Phoenix Rising
by Sima Feiyan
Summary: Experience romance and adventure. A story I created of Lady Yang, Ma Chao's wife. Written in my own perspective, contains OC and spoilers for the game and novel. All respective characters and descriptions belong to KOEI. Set in DW5 setting. Please enjoy.
1. Angels Fall First

Arthors Note: First off I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my story. It is my first fanfic and I would be very much obliged for readers to let me know how you like my reading. Polite criticism please. I also would like to state that all the respective DW characters and descritpions belong to KOEI. The only character I own is my OC. I don't really proof read all that often, so if you do find mistakes, please disregard it. I try to make sure I have it decent enough for readers. Furthormore, I respect all reviews and critiques I may recieve and I would like to very much know how you feel about my writing style. Thank you.

Angels Fall First

Air crowded by the souls of the lifeless forms that lay in gruesome peace on oriental soil. A pathetic sight for one to behold of his homeland, such a shame that a scenic nation had to be remembered as such during this turbulent time. Ferocious the battle had been for the warrior as he cried out in a thunderous roar, must he bid farewell to the land in it's current status? The blue sky that beheld what could only be described as an illuminating palace for the Gods was now stained fierce red, in mourning for the lives lost and the scent of death ascending and piercing it's blissful appearance. Alas, such was the deceitful decree of China, the land that exposed eloquent literature that captured the hearts of many, the infamous warriors, Gods and Goddesses, and it's brilliant mythology, all these qualities only for foreign eyes to seek and hear out in agonizing lust for wanting to become a part of it. When in fact the country had been going through a most brutal civil war in it's nations history, only the lives that did indeed belong could witness the true ugly forms of the land beneath it's enhanced prominence.

The warrior sat down panting irregulary with his scarlett stained spear extending towards the heavens. Behold the sound of contentment as he raised his rugged face towards the direction of brusque resonance of horse hooves approaching nearer and nearer. The robust warrior ascended himself to an illustrous stance as proof of his well being and pride. Young warriors followed closely behind the leading horse rider, a younger gentleman with a calm face. Alongside was a man whom could at first be mistaken a god instead of human, both notorious males made an obedience to the ground man and eager to have him speak out and reassure them that he was indeed in fine condition, though the same could not be said for over half of his legion of men who suffered a hacking fate.

"I must both congratulate and apologize to you younger brother....for it was due to a sudden miscalculation and my lack of strength and stealth that I could not make it in time for your aid....now over half of your men lay lifeless due to my unproven worth.."

The calm face leader had showed depressed eyes as he knelt down nearly in tears. The warrior whom had been riding along side him knelt down as well. He comforted his older brother and reminded him of his couragouss attributes endangering his safety by rushing to his youngest brother's aid. The man had a beard inclining downwards on his abdomen form, he towered over the other two men and had the persona of a creature not from our world. The ground man was rugged and had a brazen appearance, morever it was his behavior and manners that would precede his reputation. The third male whom was the eldest out of the notorious trio had a soothing complexion and a frail frame compared to the others. He was hopeful in appearance but no where near as fierce looking as his two younger brothers.

After the reunion of the sworn siblings had commenced and been done with each grabbed his horse trailing back to the kingdom of Shu. Liu Bei, the elder brother had been the pride and dream of the kindgom's hopeful souls. A virtuous man indeed how he was no where near greedy or thirsting for power as such of Dong Zhuo and other tyrants. Moreover, it is for the sake of the people that Liu Bei raises his sword and values to protect and honor the order of the Han. Guan Yu, the second brother always known for his courages aptitude had remained ever so loyal to his elder brother and his ideals. A wise man indeed and ever so terrifying in battle with his horse Red Hare whom once belonged to the almighty Lu Bu, the mightiest warrior of the land, now belonging to the warrior god the master and his Hare both exceed the battlefield without having to use even half of his strength and yet, left standing victorious in every battle. Zhang Fei may as well be known for his rough manners and poor drinking habits, however, it isn't those sort of qualities that proves a man his worth, rather that is the unintentional expemplarity Zhang Fei set in the land of Shu. A warrior who could kill just one man in such a terrifying manner thus sending his enemies scattering for rectitude winning the battlefield is indeed something to brag upon. The three sworn brothers of the Shu Kingdom, well known for their high attributes.

Zhuge Liang, the most brilliant strategist of his time made obeisance towards his lord as he rode up to the entrance. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu both always by their lord's side returned the salutes to the wise Liang. Within the ceremonial room took place a discussion of a newly constructed plan. Zhang Fei had lost nearly his whole legion of men due to a sudden change of strategy on the enemies behalf. Though still he made it out and won the battlefield by an inkling and thus he recieve felicitacious welcomings from all of Shu. Zhuge Liang was a bit perplexed at how the strategist of Wei, Sima Yi had been so ingenuous and yet within the last minute came up with a plan that back fired his own. Originally the idea was for Zhang Fei to create a night attack that would be initiated when the moon rises. Guan Yu was to promote a distubance and lead the enemies main general his way so that Zhang Fei may sneak into the camp and take out the rest of the main officers. Unfortunatley it was due to a sudden defect, an information leak from a soldier or possibly a spy sent by the Wei Kingdom that caused their near downfall had not Zhang Fei pushed himself to the limit and gave it his all. The only problem that upsurged now was that the loss of men left the Shu Kingdom in despair and limited in strategic options. Many other armies joined Wei, few who do stand up to Cao Cao fearlessley are well hidden or have been captured and executed by the King of Chaos.

Zhuge Liang had already took command summoning Zuo Ci while Liu Bei was absent in retrieving Zhang Fei. Zuo Ci a master in imparting fateful knowledge to those who staunchly seek him out. While mentioning the soon to be arriving Zuo Ci, many were indeed stunned on how it was possibly done. Zuo Ci was a man worthy of his reputation being a master in sorcery, however, it was this reputation that causes him to be a valuable find and no man could just ever request his presence anywhere, apparently that is unless the man is Zhuge Liang. The strategist had always exceeded his astounding reputation and never ceases to amaze Liu Bei. Abruptly, a guard on duty announced the arrival of master Zuo Ci, it was to Liu Bei's great fortune that the sorcerer arrived within the same day he was requested to make an appearance. As the man had entered everyone made formal obeisance towards the elder wizard and showed much respect. The ingenius man could already tell what he was needed for and thus rushed through the formalities, refusing the greeting wine.

"I have heard of the name Liu Bei. Villagers from all around speak of you as a savior and the pride of the land, you overcame much hardships to get to where you are and even it is said that you have only the best of men serving under you. You can understand that it was a bit of a shock to me when the brilliant Zhuge Liang had requested my appearance and aid you through this terrible ordeal in which you have been enforced upon. I will tell you now that the only hope for you to overcome the number of deaths your army has suffered is to obviously recruit all the able men you can allow yourself to find that share the same values as you. You wish to rid this land of tyranny and bloodshed, you wish to restore the Han and in doing so you serve not only as lord above those below you, but alongside them as well. A most impressive display of rightousness that I could not refuse to lend my service to you. The only way to ensure yourself to become stronger and make up for your armies lost is to of course recruit any followers or persons who may follow your cause. I now of three officers who share these same attributes, though none of them are as highly praised such as you, yet they could provide strength within your army......"

Zhuge Liang was not appeased with the officeres mentioned, he brought up Ma Chao the Splendid in to the conversation.

"Master Zuo Ci, your words though helpful and may be used to our advantage within time, are not satisfactory for our current state. We were planning to recruit the warrior Ma Chao. You have heard of him? My only doubt is that he may not succumb easily to us, I was hoping you could impart any knowledge you may know about him. Any persons we may know of to help us gain this advantage?" said Zhuge Liang.

Zuo Ci stroked his snowy whiskers dangling from his sharp sculpted facial frame. The man had such an elegant stature and his appearance caused the surroundings to stern up.

"Lord Ma Chao is unpredictable and I fear that if you rush now, you may not gain his aid. Instead the only way is to develope patience my friend. In order to gain Ma Chao you must gain his trust, and this is something to be proven time consuming. In order to do so you would need to first recruit the three officers I have mentioned, then you may recruit Ma Chao afterwards for you will need those three officers before pursuing Ma Chao."

Zhuge Liang only slightly puzzled maintained a high and proud profile and asked Zuo Ci to elaborate.

"The reasons for recruiting these men, though it is true they hold rather small armies of their own, the three of them and their armies combined will give you ten times the many men you had lost today. Zhuge Liang, I am sure you are aware that Cao Cao is an obstinate man who never let goes a grudge once bear upon him. Rumors fly around that he plans to attack Ma Chao's military base in Anding. Ma Chao is thoroghly aware of this and is preparing himself, however, I feel that his military does not have the strength nor the number of men to withstand Cao Cao's invasion. However, Lord Liu Bei if you combined your current military numbers with the three forces and aid Ma Chao, Cao Cao's plan is ensured to backfire and enforce him to retreat and you shall ultimatley gain Ma Chao's trust. This way he will defect from Liu Zhang and ally himself with Shu that is why you must acquire the use of these three generals before approaching the splendid man. The three officers are sworn brothers from the Jing province and are dedicated to eachothers cause. If you are able to convince the elder, you shall easily gain the trust of his two younger brothers, and by doing this you will need to make a personal appearance with this military figure. His name is Zhang Guo, the landlord of the western lands, and he is your key to this success, but I fear he is leaning toward his final days and thus should you decide to complete this deed you must make haste. Three armies along with three officers shall be yours.......but a caution to this plan."

Zuo Ci sedate himself to a sitting stance and gazed towards his audience. He spoke with his voice being much more stern than before.

"Lord Liu Bei, I must warn you to heed my words and think throughly with your adviser before making your decision, for by gaining these officers to increase your army could possibly also provide trouble for you."

All were stunned and a bit perplexed at Zuo Ci's words. The plan had seemed ideal but none standing around could figure as to why it would put Shu in possible risk of danger once they have allied with these officers. Liu Bei had a discontent expression fall upon him when he heard what the master had just stated, so he replied;

"Sir you speak of much sense and I thank you, however, I fail to see the logic viewpoint of how we may be at risk of danger. Wouldn't we be stronger and thus anihiliate our enemies faster this way?" Liu Bei asked.

The old sorcerer gave a nodding look that indicated he agreed until he spoke once more.

"Your army shall be stronger but by doing this deed you may be put at risk of gaining new enemies..."

Liu Bei looked shocked and anxious to know as to why, he asked with nervous anxiety and added a yearnful tone questioning for the answer as to why, to him it did not make sense. Then Zuo Ci spoke, this time he directed his words directly towards Zhuge Liang and spoke out of character;

"Have you studied much poetry young strategist?"

Zhuge Liang paused silently, pensive for only a moment and answered. "I have studied only selective types. Much of the literature provided in books prove to be distasteful and rather inadequate." All looked over to Zhuge Liang with questionable looks concerning with the old master's question. Instead of easing their curiousity Zhuge Liang stood still and did not explain for he wasn't quite sure himself what the old master was trying to do.

Zuo Ci responded by nodding slightly, he then recited a riddle that only added more confusion to the atmosphere.

"Angels fly and demons die;

When in doubt whom shall I rely?

The dragon is incomplete and the tiger is fighting,

But all shall cease when Phoenix Rising."

Liu Bei and his brothers found themselves in a complexed disposition, eyes turned towards Zhuge Liang but he remained still and focused towards nothingness. Everyone raised questions and some were even appalled and thought the master Zuo Ci was mocking Liu Bei's precious time with pathetic literature that concerned nothing of their current matters. All was eventually calmed by Zuo Ci who claimed that he only recited the poems so that he may test Zhuge Liangs skills and test his worth as a strategist worthy of his title. Zuo Ci had only remained silent for a few moments and stood before taking his leave he left these words for Liu Bei to bide by.

"I wish you luck on your journey Liu Bei, please take into very careful thought of what I had said. The plan shall go well should you decide to go through with it....it is only natural that some events starting off well may have certain downfalls throughout time. Nonetheless, Shu will remain standing at the pinnacle of the three kingdoms should you go along with this plan, but be for-warned there will be much bloodshed. Do not be afraid gather your courage and rebuild your strength."

With those words he bowed low towards the nervous lord and as he turned to take his leave, but before he fully departed he recited another poem as if he had picked it randomly from the sky. The audience heard him clear but disregarded it as it was irrelevant towards their matters.

"Twas this the face that launch'd a thousand ships

The ships eyeing the shores of Asia Minor.  
And burnt the topless towers of an empire.  
Sweet Maiden, make me immortal with a kiss."

Zhuge Liang widenend his eyes briefly and raised his head towards the leaving master. "So....that is what you meant. I now know your hidden message...very well. I shall take up on your challenge."


	2. Bye Bye Beautiful

Bye Bye Beautiful

The summer night felt warm and soothing sending a jovial sentiment throughout the entire city, the air was a bit humid but comforting and tasted of spices. Children were in the streets dancing carefree as the moon acted as their guiding light blessing their innocence and lifting their spirits high. They resembled cherubic angels with their youthful features and the moonlight causing their skin to glow emulating fireflies. Liu Bei stood pondering about what the old master had said earlier in the ceremonial room, with his thumb he nonchalantly rubbed it against the smooth red oakwood pole on the balcony. His black beady eyes glistened as he stared and focused his attention towards a flying kite that one of the little children was setting off against the summer wind. Entered Zhuge Liang prominently walking into Liu Bei's room coming to a graceful halt beside his lord. He kept his focus on the stars as they shone like diamonds, one in particular had twinkled optimistically as if it was trying to send a beneficial message towards the two men. Noticing his lords distress Liang spoke,

"One should not take so whole heartedly of one side and take lightly the other..." Zhuge Liang proceeded to fan himself lightly as he maintained his focus on the winking star. Liu Bei said not a word but just kept his gaze upon the children and their mothers and fathers as they joined in clapping their hands playing with their cheerful progeny.

"Am I so desperate for an army....that I should let the fate of this kingdom and what I fought for fall in vain for the sake of poor decision skills? I feel the people will soon lose hope in me....for I do not have the strength to carry on the deed that the wise master spoke of, yet I know that deep down if I do not take out this mission we cannot become as strong as we had hoped....I am indeed a rustic bumpkin who knows of nothing but to shrivel up and plunge myself into an abyss of darkness and rid myself from this world...."

Zhuge Liang responded with silence still gazing upon the twinkling star that vigorously sparkled, a few moments of endless silence ended when the brilliant strategist vocalized an oppertunity;

"Tommorow we shall start on our travels to meet up with Zhang Guo, if we leave as soon as the sun should rise we will make it in good time and still have plenty leftover to discuss the stats of Cao Cao's forces."

"Is it the right decision? What of the old master's warning? I trust whole heartedly in what you believe what is best, still I must be reassured...If we recruit these men we shall be faced with new enemies." replied Liu Bei.

"It is something that cannot be helped. If master Zuo Ci had truly thought of it wrong to take out this plan he would never have mentioned the deed to begin with. He knows as well as I do that it is fate that is deciding for us. I merely am here to translate fate and guide you into success, right now your fate is to lead into this direction where this twinkling star leans over to the west, that is the way to Zhang Guo, we won't waste any time.." Zhuge Liang said and in response Liu Bei nodded in an uneasy agreement.

The next morning the sun barely awoke from its hourly slumber when Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang straddled themselves on their horses, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei both were to lead a company of their own men to escort their lord whereas Guan Yu, the newly aqcuired Huang Zhong and Wei Yan would stay guard with the other companies to protect the main gates as well as Guan Ping and Xing Cai were to stay behind as well to assist Guan Yu. The three escorts with their lord traveled for three days until they reached the village where Zhang Guo resided in. On the mountain top, massive farmland and crops covered the soil evenly, with a very few huts and homes scattered around. The sceneary was amazing and filled with raging colors of the gardens growing from the spring mountains forestry. On the mountain was built a small manor surrounded by many trees such as plum, peach, lotus blossoms and a waterfall nearby with red crowned cranes roaming around lurking for newly hatched guppies swimming within the crystal reflected water. The weather was warm and fitting for it's tropical surroundings, dozens of unheard wildlife surrounded the scenic area. Indeed the land resembled ideal paradise and it appeared that the lord Zhang Guo cared for his people right and the land was blessed with peace and security.

The four men approached the manor after being greeted by the villagers and guided by two guards to the main entrance. Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei were to wait guard at the main entrance with their companies. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang both were greeted by a dainty housekeeper who led them into an enormous parlor that contained warm wine and a bowl of exotic fruits, some of which Liu Bei never set his eyes on before. They looked like gems with eye popping colors and their exquisite appearance that attained the focus of the lord until his attention was abruptly interrupted by the dainty housekeeper who invited the two men to follow her up stairs, leading them into the main master bedroom. There an elderly man sat by his bedside gazing upon the view through his window, he greeted the two men graciously and seemed rather pleased to recieve Liu Bei.

"I have heard of your name lord Liu Bei, I am honored to make your aqquaintance. I am Zhang Guo, lord of these small western lands and am not worthy for of your presence, please excuse my unappropriate appearance for you see I am quite old and am not as stealth as I had been many years ago."

Zhang Guo was a man eighty six years of age. During his youth he had been serving under the late emperor as a leading officer until he retired as a warlord within these western areas. He continued his warlord duties and commuted to appease peace within areas nearby with local warlords. Liu Bei went through proper formalities with his host and acted with great respect towards the elderly man. During the obeisance, Liu Bei had meant to maintain eye contact with his gracious host, however, the wide range of paintings hanging on the walls were tasteful and caught Liu Bei's eye. One in particular seemed most well done out of the rest for it's brillant use of color and theme, it was a woman washing clothes on a lily pond and he had to show his appreciation of the talent.

"One of my older paintings...that was my late sister who passed away when she was still quite young. I became very useful with my talent, many would often praise my artisan skills higher than my military efforts. It is a shame that I am not able to substain such a gifted talent, I can't remember when was the last time I held a brush in these old hands." Zhang Guo said.

Zhuge Liang bowed low towards the talented warlord abd brought up the reason of their visit to discussion. Liu Bei felt a bit uneasy for he felt outlandish within his host's home and asking for his men to service under him so rather bluntly.

"Now that you know our disposition I ask that you lend us your men to service under my lord. We are in terrible need of their service and would be eternally grateful towards you and your sworn brothers, the warlords Meng Qi and Ping Tan." Zhuge ended his request. He recieved in turn a deep yet dismal expression within the elder man's eyes.

"Nothing would honor me most than to lend you the service of my sworn brothers and my aid....but as you can see I am but an old man whose days are coming to an end so soon. I may give you my men but you may find that my company alone is not enough for what you require, and my sworn brothers knowing them to being kind and well meaning, would refuse to service themselves without my presence along with them, for we have made a pact. I fear that your visit is for nothing and that I feel very terrible."

Zhang Guo bowed his head in shame for not able to do anything for the kind Liu Bei, however, Zhuge Liang continued to persuade the elder man to call in his sworn brothers. Thus Zhang Guo did so and Meng Qi and Ping Tan welcomed themselves in the manor to greet the two travelers. The two sworn brothers were younger from their eldest brother by twenty years worth and thus felt that it was their duty to stay by their elder brother's side and refused Liu Bei's offer. Zhang Guo looked distressed and embarassed for the limited options he was faced with along with Liu Bei. However, Zhuge Liang did not stop with the persuasion and continued only this time he mentioned a topic about a certain niece. Time stood nearly still for everyone looked up and stayed silent towards the two men. Zhuge Liang spoke once again asking of this particular niece.

"I do have a niece yes...." Zhang Guo nodded slightly smiling, then continued; "Since I have answered your question, I would like you to answer mine. What do you know of my niece and what is it that you hope to gain by bringing her up in this conversation?" Zhang Guo asked kindly but with slight sterness awaiting for Zhuge Liangs answer.

"I have heard the rumors that you and your late wife had taken in a eurasian child years ago, her father was a European officer from a royal army. Nearly twenty years ago he visited China to form agreements with the late emperor concerning a foreign nation trading deal, it was then the young gentleman had met a charming woman, your sister. Unfortunately to your sister's dismay, the young officer's term to stay in China was only one year's worth and was ordered to return to his homeland. Before he departed your sister confessed she was with his child. You sister gave birth to a girl, they say that the little girl grew and left this land to live with her father and study abroad where she married a foreign warrior and continues to reside overseas."

Zhuge Liang spoke with a leisure tone. Liu Bei only listened intently but was dumbfounded, his strategist never ceases to amaze him with his expanded knowledge. Zhang Guo nodded slightly until he decided to speak with a dissatissfied expression.

"She is an innocent child at heart with a woman's charisma. She is a scholar and a skillful fighter as well as a dancer. A child of extraordinary talents that put my most prized paintings and military accomplishments to shame. She is to me as a daughter to a father. I took her in when she was quite young after her mother had passed away from sickness and I wished nothing but the best for her and had hoped she would gain freedom to live and pursue her happiness but alas I am shameful to say that I had not acted kindly and took that away from her. It had been six years go since that fateful day. My late wife and I went through such hectic times and much refusals for we loved her and had to do our best to protect her. Yes you are right I have a niece....but alas I am shame to say that her life story you have just now recited are just rumors...rumors that spread along to hush and rid her name from this world. She has never left China nor has she ever been married, I have hidden her from the world for her own safety. What is it that you would want from her?"

Zhuge Liang bowed his head slightly low in commiseration towards the complexity of his host and what he was enforced to live with for years. He loved his niece as he would of a daughter and yet he was forced to face a tough decision that caused him pain. Zhuge Liang softly spoke and stated the following;

"Illustrous sir, though I have high respects for you I have to state that you are dying and soon will be no longer in this world. And if that isn't enough to cause you worries for the well being of your niece, the only living member of your family, I can see it in your eyes that you aren't trusting enough to anyone, even your sworn brothers. You are uneasy to let them care for your niece for you are afraid she may be harmed since your brothers have acquired many enemies and have been the targets of numerous attempts. And there is no one else you know of that you can gain trust from to care for her thus I propose you let us take her for we will never do her harm. Instead she will experience the freedom and happiness of that of which you spoke of, I can see you clearly only want her to be happy and so I make it my sincere promise to do so in your place for you see she will not only need us but we desperatley need her. Without her we cannot have the armies of your sworn brothers for they will not follow us into service unless someone within your bloodline joins our cause...which no one in this world fits that criteria but your niece."

Zhuge Liang spoke with the utmost sincerity that touched the old man's heart and put him at ease for he never heard anyone spoke in such a manner. He knew of Liu Bei's name and how good the man was, moreover the young strategist had proven not only his lord's worth but he spoke with a sensible tongue. Zhang Guo agreed to take the two men to meet his niece and led both men upstairs to the highest floor, despite the halls being somewhat disclosed in secrecy, they were highly well furnished and decorated with such expensive silk wallpaper. Statues of the guardian phoenix were all aligned next to the walls and bunches of peacock feathers ornamented the long hallway in large ceramic vases. Once the three men arrived the end of the long hallway, two doors made of red oak with intricate carvings of two phoenix facing eachother stood facing in front of them. Zhang Guo mentioned that he would stay behind and allow the two men to properly state their reasons and meet his niece on their own. Liu Bei felt a bit outlandish and had proposed that the old lord check on her to make sure she was decent before they should enter. Zhang Guo noticing Liu Bei's anxiety calmed the lord reassuring that there was no treachery or trickery afoot.

Zhang Guo opened the doors and allowed himself in only halfway; "Do not be afraid my friend, come and witness the wonders of an ancient glory, behold....Yang Jia." Zhang Guo stood by as the two youths followed deep within the room. The room was well furnished with silken curtains and wallpaper that were even more expensive than the furnishings in the hallway. There ahead of the two men were a pair of bird cages rimmed with jewels along the corners of the silver borders. Inside the cages were a pair of gracefull sweet singing eurasian collared doves, and beside the cages stood a woman at the same height of Liu Bei, he who was at five feet and eight inches in height. She had her back facing towards the two visitors, her locks moved freely with the same level of intesity as the black midnight sky. The woman didn't turn to face the visitors right away, instead she tended to her birds casually humming a sweet melody to them. Zhuge Liang began to speak in a rather quiet tone as to not to alert the woman so out of suddenly.

"My lady, please disregard our rude intrusion for we are in desperate need of your time..." Zhuge Liang stood turning slightly towards Liu Bei. Without saying a word the woman turned around and revealed herself, she gave a slight smile towards her two visitors and greeted them with her whispering salutations. Her voice was so soft and tender it almost seemed possible for her to melt ice with it. She offered them to sit at a large table made of white marble where she sat across from them. Liu Bei was stunned at the woman's exotic features thanks to her eurasian heritage, she was blessed for the heavens had only given her the best of both worlds. Liu Bei studied her striking features just for a moment, among her natural appeal were the shades of blue coloring that coat her eyelids. It looked like pedal dust that the women of the royal house would wear to enhance their facial beauty. However, the lady Yang's blue shadowing had a artistic smokey appearance. Zhuge Liang spoke out ever so leisurely and started to explain their reasons to the maiden thoroghly, she sat so still and waited till the strategist was finished with his words before she decided to speak.

"I, just as anyone would be glad to help cease this chaos and spread peace throughout the land.....and you say your lord is a man of great virtue and has the legacy bloodline of the royal Han...that is all well but how do I know I can take you upon your word?" Yang Jia spoke.

Zhuge Liang proceeded with praises of his lord and his ideals for the land. Liu Bei contributed to the conversation by stating how important her aid would be to their Kingdom. However, Yang Jia was completly convinced to avoid any unessescary rough situations and besides, she was content staying by her uncles side. However, Zhuge Liang remained ever so tenacious, suddenly Zhang Guo entered the room hurriedly and knelt down by his niece. He took her hand into his and this is what he said,

"My dear Yang Jia, words cannot express my dear love for you and how it means to me that you care for me so...even though you I have been shameful the last six years....you were always such a good child, and that is exactly what you are dear Yang Jia....a good child who always followed requests without a voice of protest. I told you to stay hidden and to never let anyone touch, speak, or look upon you and after all these years you still remain ever so pure and content with following those orders. Nineteen years of age, a virgin, an innocent being...please forgive me for holding your life at a long pause. But now, I feel I can make up for my shameful act...lord Liu Bei is a wonderful man who can restore peace throughout the land and has the path ahead of him...he only needs light....you must be the guiding light for Shu and help it prevail. I bid you to go as my last request for I will be rid of this world soon. Please allow me to feel at peace by doing this for me."

Yang Jia stared into her unlce's eyes sadly but nodded. She could never find the words to allow her uncle to understand her side of the situation, always being happy because of his own happiness. She always felt content to see her uncle flashing a smile and safe within his own home, and it was her who should ask for forgiveness for she provided to be a burden towards her only immediate family. Liu Bei quietly stood up and spoke words that inspired Yang Jia.

"Lord Zhang Guo, I thank you for what you are trying to do...but I cannot be content with your niece having to be forced to service my kingdom alongside my men when she has made up her mind.....she has every right to stick with the decision she has made for I have been tricked and betrayed many times. Perhaps we may request that she spend a day to think of her decision and possibly reconsider...but never could I force anyone to service under me especially being hidden in a room for six years and restrained from going to the outside world....please forgive us Yang Jia...Zhang Guo...." Liu Bei bowed and remained as such for he felt unsure of what to do...he never felt so lost. Suddenly Yang Jia stood and request Liu Bei to lift his head. He did so and looked directly at her, he stared at her perfectly shaped eyes she spoke and elated the lords feelings.

"I am inexperienced in many areas and cannot recall the last time I have ever last spoken to another person other than my uncle and his household keepers who devoted their affection and time to me greatly and keeping me sane within this room. I do not have any regrets, the love for my uncle and his safety has kept me living in happiness for each time I saw him smiled, I knew i was doing the right duty as a grateful member of his family. My uncle is the only one I have in my life, I have lost my mother at the age of seven and I do not know who nor where my father resides or whether if he is still living or passed on. My uncle means more to me than anything and I wish to carry out his final wish and allow me to join your cause before him so that he may have no worries. If my dearest family member claims you to be a good man, I would never go against my uncle's judgement and will lend you all my strength and efforts. With me as his only living legacy, though distant our bloodline happens to be, I still am carrying the blood of him, my mother and their family name. With that you can rest assure that I will lead his sworn brothers Meng Qi and Ping Tan along with the three full companies of men to your success. Please let us service under you."

Zhuge Liang bowed in contentment for they have succeeded the deed that will help escalate Shu's success and his lords righteous values. Enough time had been spent, now was the time for Yang Jia to bid farewell to her uncle one last time. Though she had tears in her eyes as she tried her best to withstand the saddened wave of emotions, her uncle reminded her to be strong and to think of him in heaven smiling down for he was now content and at peace.

Preparations took effect and the companies along with Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and the two officers Meng Qi and Ping Tan with their own companies and lord Zhang Guo's company being led by Yang Jia. Everyone marched and journyed out to take their three day trip back to Shu. By the time she had spent her second week adjusting to her new accomodations in Shu, she recieved word that her uncle had passed. Zhuge Liang looked over Zhang Guo's will in which he preserved within his own quarters and would wait for the right time to allow Yang Jia to recieve the document for he felt she needed time to keep her emotions intact for he had a divine plan setup for the defeat of Cao Cao.


	3. 10th Man Down

10th Man Down

Summer time had been so far less dreadful to Liu Bei's astonishment. The lord of Shu had remembered the two summers passed had been more of the catastrophic times within his thirty one years of service as prefect and general. Recalling the moments when he had still lived with his mother in the town where he was born, some would say the setting was a bit appalling, however, to Liu Bei it would always be his consolation, his home. Recollecting the moments when he had lived within the rustic hut that his mother would try so hard to refurnish so that it may look more presentable. He was only a shoe weaver at the time, using the same hands that are now weilding the virtuous blade of rightness that stands up against the lions of injustice, were back then sewing straw matts and carrying out manual labor daily. Back then these hands were four years more youthful and having shed much blood and scars from all the intense pulling and sewing of weaving matts, he had not seen passed the fake equitableness and chaos hidden beneath the content empire and ruling of the major tyrants. He only wished to live and take care of his elderly mother who loved her dear son so very much. She spoke to him and entered the ideas of valuing life;

"Son you are twenty eight years within your youth...you must brace your liberty and experience the fruit of oppertunity, the benefits the world has to offer to you. Act now for things will deteriorate and much difficulties will take over."

A short moment and those words had rap him in the head. As if his mother's words were an omen he witnessed the changes within his homeland, chaos gradually merged from province to province, from city to city. He saw the disasters arising within the land and he felt discontent and dismal to stop it. However, fate stepped in to his benefit as he stumbled across a homely butcher who held the spirit of a loyal maverick but the strength and ferocity of a beast. It was Zhang Fei, Liu Bei felt the connection of their kindred spirits when they both conversed for hours in the pub drinking til their heart's content. Fate stepped in once more when Guan Yu entered the tavern only to simply have a moments rest from his long travels. Liu Bei couldn't exactly put his finger on what was it that triggered his boldness to greet the man but he knew there was something about the majestic man that allowed himself to bond at moments first sight. The three men met and vowed together the same day to live and die jointly, as one mutally. Momentous memories that will never fade from his mind or his spirit, that day where the vow was made in the peach garden where the three virtuous brothers of Shu were born.

After their arrival from the three day travel, a conference discussing matters of recruiting more men and plans for handling the prefect Liu Zhang were taken into much consideration by all able officers. Liu Zhang was considered the "nephew" of his imperial "uncle" Liu Bei. Past meetings between the two revealed the connection of their bloodline giving one other explanation of the same surname. Two distant relatives became fast friends for a while only to watch it being ripped seperatly within a few months time. Wretchedly Liu Zhang's consultants bore hostility towards Liu Bei and constantly swayed Liu Zhang to distance himself and ignore him. One of his advisors had even confided a proposal of ridding Liu Bei from the world but Liu Zhang had remembered the kindess he recieved upon from the imperial uncle and hesitated to go along with the deed.

Zhuge Liang proposed Liu Bei to invade Cheng Du and thus initiate the kingdom of Shu-Han with Chengdu serving as it's capital. Pang Tong continuously brought up matters of assassinating Liu Zhang, however, Liu Bei strongly showed antipathy towards the idea and railed against it quickly. Captain Zhao Yun proposed that he would lead a company of men to invade the main gates and provide distraction for the main enemy generals so that Zhang Fei and Guan Yu may provide a surprise attack from the rear guard of the city. Since Zhao Yun's metier was using visceral strength, Zhuge Liang nodded in approval with this proposal.

Zhao Yun was the steadfast, right-hand man of Liu Bei after the two younger sworn brothers. The young captain had always been the constant path clearer for his lord, a firm character holding up a tall stature with a built that held the same qualities of a divine warrior from the heavens. Just like a prince the young man carried himself with a valiant atmosphere. Standing tall and proud, his handsome face featured compassionate aspects and held ardent wild eyes. It was often believed that these very eyes could burn Lucifer to ashes because Zhao Yun held a fiery passion within his heart to protect the people and serve justice to the land and that burned hotter than Hell itself.

After the meeting was over and all officers had been dismissed, Yang Jia stayed behind and remained herself focus intently on the map. She was newly acquainted with the area at first, but nearly two weeks should of been more than enough time for her to get used to the trails. It was odd, she had the hardest time adjusting herself to the new surroundings, she worried herself over the matter for she realized that this disorder was getting to be a serious personal disorder. She even spent two days without sleep trailing the areas and created her own maps of the rice patty field, and still to no avail did she succeed in finding her way around. Everytime she had tried her mind would experience sharp pains and she would feel naucious and had to lay down. What to do in a situation like this, for she was too nervous to say anything to anyone.

Now that she thought of it, It seemed even the areas of her uncle's land back west had been a bit eccentric to mobile around after her uncle released her to Liu Bei's care. The journey to Shu ignited her caution senses completley, having felt to be always on the alert side and stayed tail-reaching close to Zhang Fei's horse as to prevent any issues of getting lost. Zhuge Liang took this slight demerit into respect, thus he modified a plan that would put Yang Jia's poor sense of direction out of the picture and allow her to complete the instructed mission. She would be allowed to sneak into the city while Zhao Yun debilitates the main gate providing time for a guide to escort Yang Jia leading her company in towards the main part of the city so that she may apply her skills taking out the main body guards of the palace and holding off Liu Zhang within the secured building so that he may not escape. The plan would take place within the next night, the members could not afford to waste time since Liu Zhang had heard of Liu Bei's travel to the west to meet with the landlord Zhang Guo, word had not arrived to him of Liu Bei's return to Shu. It would be a complete surprise raid and Liu Zhang will find himself in a hopeless state and would have to surrender.

Liu Bei went up to his studying advisor a few hours after the dismissal of the council meeting. He conversated casually with him for the next hour, many topics were discussed reffering to subjects such as where to find able recruits, the current union of Shu and Wu, and matters of equalizing the companies for each officer with their new numbers. Liu Bei then brought up Yang Jia into the topic;

"She seems to enjoy the new settings. She is a quiet character, rather interestingly enough she would of striked me as the kind to enjoy the company of others like her, but I have seen her spending nearly all her time in the stables with the horses or out by the gentle stream among the peach blossom field. The outside creatures seem to be her strong suit, I always see her able to reach up and wild birds would fly up perch themselves on her hands. She sings to them a fine tune of outstanding notes, but I feel she is too modest of her abilities for she has never carried any tunes to the young men or women. A precious character indeed."

Liu Bei chuckled as he would think of the other day when he and Shang Xiang were site viewing on the high balcony of the fifth floor. He saw Yang Jia down by the gentle stream walking through the warm waters barefooted and spend her time singing to those birds. It was to him, adorable in every manner, like a child experiencing carefree moments of her youth. Since being on the subject of Yang Jia, Liu Bei did notice the scene back in the council meeting, it concerned him a bit and he had to bring up the matters with his advisor;

"By the way, did you notice she was concentrating on the map quite irregulary? For someone to stare at a map for so long is a bit abnormal, do you suppose she is nervous of the plan?"

Zhuge Liang spoke forth toward his lord with less effort, as usual, he had already figured the cause of this abnormalty;

"I too did notice the little scene in the council room. What should we expect? It is a side effect from being locked away in a room for six years. Skills of improving sense of direction fails to grow and she is stuck with having to use an escort to guide her around the areas. The failing improvement of using your mobility skills becomes more severe should you remain locked away, not even moving into a new setting or accomodations. I noticed this when she couldn't even manage her way through her uncle's land of which she had resided in since she was born. It is a tragic effect for her, however, I have not left anything out and taken everything into consideration. Not to worry. Zhang Fei shall remain as her personal guide and mentor, Xing Cai will also partake in aiding the woman's needs."

Zhang Fei took a liking towards the new member. In fact, Yang Jia enchanted many of the people of Shu and surprisingly she hadn't obtained such immense attention from the males as the other ladies would recieve strangely considering the woman's eye-catching appeal was far more superior than the other women. In it's place did she recieve much of the children's attention instead, Yang Jia loved to converse with the youth and join in on their merriment games and did so almost every day since she had arrived. She also enjoyed her time with the elderly occasionally making her way through the farming fields and offering assistance. Amongst these activites she found herself mostly devoted to the stables. For as long as she could remember Yang Jia had a fondness for horses and she did her best to take extra special focus on her own horse given by her late uncle. The horse received much adoration from his new master, one could see within it's glazed eyes the devotion and warmth the beast held for her.

Xing Cai, the delicate elder daughter of Zhang Fei was one of many who grew a strong liking for Yang Jia. The woman's personality surely was amiable all around next to Liu Bei who was described as always meaningful and easily fond of. Though Yang Jia was incredibly shy, her silence did not disrupt her image in the least negative manner. All in all she was pictured as a simply decent girl. Zhang Fei always loved his daughters and found that the joys of educating and caring for the younger females always held sentimental feelings within his coarse heart. He held this same tenuous management for Yang Jia and was the one to show her around the areas of Shu, introducing the people, and would act as a father figure to her if ever she needed guidance. Xing Cai, a noble young woman who was older by a few months provisioned Yang Jia and acted as a newly found older sister towards the her. Both often spent times horse riding together. Yang Jia was stolen away with Xing Cai's kindness and looked up to her as someone she could always trust and thus would vow to treat her as family protecting her whenever she could. Liu Bei was astoundingly please to see that the new members of his military were fitting in quite nicely. He held full confidence in tommorows night raid and prayed that events would continue to move along smoothly without any interferences. Slowly the cautious words from master Zuo Ci had dissipitated for he acquired the two officers and Yang Jia in place of her now passed uncle, and no trouble brew upon him nor was his people in danger and he felt content. That night Liu Bei joined in bed with his recently acquired wife with a pleased look on his handsome face.

"I wish for this night to last for a life time, the darkness around me shores off a solar sea. Your lips though unmoving speak to me, they move me and talk of a new world where the once wistful oceans would be calm and ardent carresses are laid to rest." Liu Bei recited such lovingly words to his wife in which she melted with his touch as he carressed her sweet face. Shang Xiang then replied;

"Let us share the night dreaming of the future and it's peace until there is nothing left to say. I will love to share moments like these with you every night my beloved." replied the ever so lovely Shang Xiang.

Lady Sun or Shang Xiang was what her original name had been for long since she could remember, had been Liu Bei's wife for two months now and she had ever remained so loyal to her husband. A strong woman with values as high as heaven, such a woman was only conceivable and hardly ever found. She was much more unique in appearance when compared to most ladies, she had the most bold and daring skills a woman could perform in battle which did nothing but protect and aid her beloved. Her hair was always kept cut short framing her attractive face, mystifying her eyes keeping them hidden under a thin layer of the dark copper strands. She stands next to her beloved and places his hand over her heart allowing him to feel the beat of her heart. He loved everything about this delicate creature indeed but the thing that triggered his love for her the most was the most simple touch between their flesh. Her body stood at medium height and was in outstanding shape and tone. She may not have been as curvacious as some of the other beautiful women throughout the land but her proportions were faultless and her smile constantly reminded him of his gracious luck that the Gods had given her to him.

The morning meals were prepared and served early, many preparations were made and sooner than they could of realized night had taken over the light sky, isolating the world into darkness. Plans were in place and Liu Bei remained in the safety lines with his wife and advisor by his side. Zhao Yun readied himself to set out and initiate the battle while Zhang Fei and Guan Yu arrived in moments time at the rear side of the city. Xing Cai stayed by her father's side on her tan steed with the steel trident in hand and sheild in other. The battle started when Zhao Yun rammed his company towards the main gate and caused it destruction as each minute had passed. Three main generals approached and attacked back towards Zhao Yuns company and Zhao Yun started to retreat back towards the hills where the Generals followed, the chase kept up until Zhao Yun led them to the ambush zone where another hidden company formed up by one of the Shu officers and Wei Yan. The two captians attacked them and routed the enemy completley with ease. Before the generals could attempt an escape when realizing that the false retreat performed by Zhao Yun was apart of a carefully laid out plan by Zhuge Liang, they had been captured and taken in with their companies either slain or surrendering to the Shu army.

Yang Jia made it through the gates with her escort facing very less enemy soldiers since they became preoccupied by the ambush plan. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei both took up much of the enemies attention as well by hacking away the rear gates and picking out main generals, one by one ensuring their capture. The palace was heavily guarded by ten guard officer, each wield massive blades containing edgy fringes along the outer lining of the stainless steel. Yang Jia wield a spear similar to her higher military officer comrads, the spear was specially made for her by the request of Zhuge Liang from a well sought out blacksmith. Raising the long pole presenting the spear head as she prepared herself in battle stance, her weapon was a display of power with the elongated silver blade nearly reaching a foot in length. Surrounding the elegant steel were penetrating cutting edges that gave the spear design an instant tortuous appeal. The head of the weapon resembled an outline stilhouette of an unbloomed rose with it's leaves expanding to it's right and left side. Forming with the two leaf blades were hanging chains aligned with short fringe blades all around, the chains reached nearly to the ground from the weapon front. One would of though this beautiful yet frail looking weapon would belong to a memorial as a wall ornament. The first officer approached at high speed with his blade extending towards Yang Jia's chest ready to skewer her right through, yet to his surprise the woman who was before him had suddenly gone out of sight. She didn't dissapear in plain sight, rather she had swiftly flipped herself out of his view with such precised timing and alacrity, the guard gushed out a painful grutn as she striked his back with the blade end of her spear.

The fallen officer recieved major injury but death was far from him. Four of the other officers grouped jointly aimed for Yang Jia running towards her taking high aims, but then shock kicked in when the officers found their blades joint in unity with no corpse intact. Each officer looked around with revelation, however, like a streak of lightning streaming through the sky, the woman used a pattern of steps circling each officer in motion to group together. Each officer she passed had been strucked by her spear three of which met death and the other knocked down. The leftover officers scattered in attempt to attack in turns, but to their failed attempt, the woman was so agile and quick and her skills took the sight out of her opponents eyes. Each officer falling one by one to the soil beaten and unable to move, runny lines of blood traced the steps of the high palace. Tenth man down, and Yang Jia was succeeding in her mission. Liu Zhang was secured in the building and had not been able to escape after witnessing the event that had just taken place outside his courtyard, Guan Yu witness the woman's unique skills and praised her from afar. Her ways of fighting contained the moves of a samba dancer as she graced the palace gates with her thrilling presentation, leaving the scene carnal.

Liu Zhang's forces moral were decreasing dramatically in only a minute's time. Liu Bei's merciful values had induced his military men as they showed mercy towards the inferior ground soldiers, many of them taken hostage and had the choice of devoting their services towards Liu Bei, or suffer instand death. All officers were taken prisoner with the exception of two, whom were the advisors of Liu Zhang. They managed to get through the chaotic battle reaching towards the eastern hills off the side of the main entrance, when suddenly their escape route was blocked by a horse rider with few men following behind. The rider rushed towards the advisors having them routed in all directions and demanded their capture. The lead rider appeared to be a female with shining dark hair, she yelled out a cry of motivation with her trident raised high among her followers to which they responded by raising their weapons as well. And yet, interestingly enough her war cry was as graceful as a songbird's, instead of fearing off all those who opposed her it invited them to yearn for more wanting to capture the beautiful woman for their own. Her black eyes pierced through the two men's hearts and left them frozen, gazing with wide open mouths at the magnificant beauty. The female warrior stood with a proud figure that was slightly voluptuous but thin and flexible. Her face resembled a China doll with her dainty nose and slight pouty lips, why it was no other than Xing Cai, brave daughter of Zhang Fei.

Victory was assured towards Liu Bei's forces and he felicitated all his officers for their extraordinary performance. A banquet was held for the military and hostility lessend between the two leaders Liu Bei and Liu Zhang. However, their trust in eachother was not fully restored for they both knew that two leaders cannot exist within a single kingdom, so it was decided that Liu Zhang would hold a position within one of the main cities of Shu and maintain a high position of governance, along with his original subordinates assisting him on governance matters. Liu Bei showed felicitation towards the main officers that took part of the battle and provided them with new positions and rewards. Xing Cai was noted by her father and Liu Bei for her brave and excellent capture of the two advisors, and Yang Jia was recognized for her interesting skills performed and felicitated. Zhuge Liang mentioned toward his lord;

"I recall the old uncle mentioning Yang Jia taking dancing has a hobby. It seems that the late warlord had an inquiring eye, and thought of an idea that would prove to be faultless in the battlefield. He has created a way of fighting that could be fused with dancing. As you had seen with your own eyes, this proved to be a flawless method in the fields of battle, leaving the opponents in shock and unable to avoid attacks or make contact with the enemy. She moves as if she had wings on her feet, dancing to a beat only she can hear. Perfection at it's finest."


	4. For the Heart I Once Had

For the Heart I Once Had

Hearing of Liu Zhang's defeat the military strategist Ma Dai grew concerned of the now recent victor Liu Bei and his intentions. THe Shu leader's army may not be quite as large or nearly as ferocious, however, the fact was that if the menacing Cao Cao should show up at any time, and if Liu Bei decided to take advantage of this condition what will his cousin do? Ma Dai knew that their army could not handle two branches of enemies and thus kept any sort of events that could lead to hostility between his cousin and Liu Bei's army in avoidance. The Ma army was recovering from their three day recent failing attempt in luring Cao Cao from his main walls. Cao Cao purposely invited Ma Chao and his army to come forth upon his main gate so that they would settle the score. However Cao Cao, knew that he could not defeat Ma Chao in the condition his army was now in from the destructive defeat at Chi Bi, much to the dismay of the Ma army, this was all part of a ruse Cao Cao had stored for Ma Chao. The Wei leader simply stayed behind the gates safely and Ma Chao's army was left outside for days cursing at Cao Cao for being so dastardly in combat. Ma Dai knew he wouldn't settle the score for Cao Cao was truly terrified of his cousin, when the third day arrived, Ma Chao saw that there was no possible intention from Cao Cao that he wanted to step forth and fight him. Instead the King of Chaos remained hidden behind his strong walls and completley ignored the Ma army, forcing them to leave and made their five day trip back to their own main camp. Now, they are faced with this pathetic rumor that Cao Cao intends to attack Ma Chao's main camp, which left such cynical expressions throughout the army, after that pathetic challenge Cao Cao had backed down from, why in the world would he decide to head straight for the Ma camp and attack it head on? This was exactly the impression Cao Cao wanted from the Ma army.

Ma Dai, an advisor to the army had stood by his cousin's side, providing any strategic advatage towards his righteous goal of avenging his slain father and brother. Ma Teng, the late warlord and father to Ma Chao, uncle to Ma Dai, was a stern but kind man who showed the values of honor and the teachings of military combat toward five son's. Ma Chao was his eldest of Ma Teng's mighty progeny, he who had spent all his twenty one years learning the intense combat and military strategies of warfare in which he mastered completley and grew to be a valiant warrior. He became known as "Ma Chao the Splendid" due to his excellent skills with his spear and for his distinctive armor. Many enemies who would set sights on Ma Chao riding on his mighty white steed with spear in hand, the dragon helmet marginally covering his eyes thus never allowing the enemy to piece together his full identity, would all scatter in fear and dared not to stand in his way. There was no other who resembled his stature and stamina.

Ma Dai in contrast of his ardent relative remained as the ever so vigilant advisor with a humble yet slick appearance. The man's mindset was paralled with Ma Chao as they both were knowledgable with military affairs. Ma Dai could always read his cousin and knew he played an important role as his current right hand man. He was plain when compared to Ma Chao, whether it be for appearances sake or skills, however, he held a restful looking face with soothing features with a straight nose and rounded eyes paired with straight eyebrows. He was pale in complexion with nuetral lips and high cheeks, simply a placid looking figure with a temperate mind.

Within the Ma army were the followers of the late warlord, whom now followed alongside the late master's son. Pang De whom was Ma Teng's most skillful officer in the battlefield had provided no dissapointments when in combat. Resembling a shining knight with his full body armor and pair of large twin battleax, the shining man set a strong example throughout the Ma military. Then there was Han Sui whom was the late warlords sworn brother. He offered his services towards the son of his brother to help contine his legacy and so that Ma Teng's goals should not be in vain. A majority of their military was made up of numerous members from the Qiang tribe as well as Ma Teng's original company combined with the companies of Pang De, Han Sui, Ma Chao, and Ma Dai. It was clear to all that Ma Chao was a formiddable foe to any who stood against his wrath.

Let freedom ring and allow the whole world know that the day the fierce leader Ma Teng fell to the hands of Cao Cao for which he had refused to bow low, in return his head was offered to the town, this was a day of reckoning. From the depths of Hisiliang rises the angry son, Ma Chao thirsting for revenge of his father's murder and no one dare tell him otherwise.

Ma Chao remained unactive next to the library within the small room. The man was not much of a scholar regardless of his adept knowledge, all thanks to years of experience recieved from the glory battlefield. Ma Dai enters the room seeking for approval concerning the military matters, only Ma Chao said nothing, instead he kept his stare towards the summer peach blossoms through the window and watched as they changed their shades of neutral flush to a stale florid intensity due to the night sky shading over their glorious flourishing.

"The sun is now sleeping quietly and I am but restful. For days I cannot find peace while thinking of my father's death left unpunished. I shall continue to weep deep within my soul and yearn for the glorious moment when I take the damn head of that debauched bastard Cao Cao..."

Ma Chao's voice was ringing with unlikable rage that his cousin would very much prefer to ignore, for he disliked seeing his cousin in distress. Alas the beast has a heart as he closed his eyes momentarily soaking up the regrets of the spiteful temperament he showed in front of his only living family member.

"I am stressed is all....I feel incomplete for justice has not come for me. Must I keep pursuing something that seems unreachable? My apologies cousin, I merely need rest."

Ma Dai approved of this new tone of character and performed to ease the blood lust under his cousin's noble brow.

"In time two figures shall recieve an oppertunity to take what is desired. Those two members are you and Cao Cao, surely when it comes down to it, it shall be you who will remain victorious till the very end. Ma Chao you must proceed with caution but also rely on others and take patience at hand. Success never comes rightfully within a day's worth, it takes years of effort, time and much bloodshed." said the intellectual Ma Dai.

Ma Chao sedated himself leisurely with legs spread and his elbow resting on the arm of the seat supporting his head. Disordered strands of dark sunburned auburn surround his strong facial features escaping the tight grip of his scruffy pony tail. He smiled a devious grin with eyes delicatley shut, almost as if he was nonchalantly mocking the words with that unfaithful grin, but Ma Dai knew his cousin to be earnest no matter the shifty looks he gave off. Ma Chao was a provocative man who was either admired greatly or scornfully disliked due to his slight cocky attitude. He carried a very handsome face that contained notorious features that even cause the burning sun shivering in lust. Every morning it was a sight to behold for those who admired the beast of a man, he held such a high profile and an enigmatic appearance. For the most part his image was puzzling as his helmet always shaded his eyes away from anyone's view, it gave a sense of unexplainable sensual desires to the women as they developed a fetish for that mystique appeal, only to melt into the earthly soil whenever they recieve the treat of seeing the warrior without his headgear. Very few witness the bare image of his identity, if asked, these few would agree that Ma Chao's features were voracious. Slightly pouted lips that would occasionally reveal a sly smile of straight teeth, tan skin and a seamless nose that carried a noble bridge. His eyes were the absolute heart-stealer though. Steel grey in pigmentation surrounded the tiny pupils that reminiscent feline eyes, connected with eradicating eyebrows perfectly arched which often led him to send off an executing glare. He had a strong jawline and carried a magnificant figure, regardless of some of his frisson qualities the man was quite kind in a grim way. He cared and fought for the innocence and even though he could be quite unsmiling at most times, it only made his delighted expressions much more valuable to his men and it sent them high in spirits.

Liu Bei felt at ease with his recent victory of Chengdu, however, matters concerning the number of his military put him at constant shortage of breath. For him to succeed against any foe would mean he would have to recruit much more men and recieve the aid of highly skilled officers. The three recent officers he acquired were indeed of a big help, if only he could get the brilliant Ma Chao to join him, that would be grand. Zhuge Liang was way ahead of his lord as always, preparing delicate plans and formations to induce skillful warriors such as Ma Chao or even Xua Shi to join. Even plans to conspire defects of the Wei army were taken into consideration, such is the likes of the Sleeping Dragon. Once the plans were in place the officers were then placed within their units and each of them recieved a unique mission. Yue Ying would help lead Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei towards the eastern provinces to make obedience with Xua Shi and induce him to join Shu. Xing Cai along with Wei Yan should go to the north and escort a numerical amount of five messengers into the Wei capital to conspire possible defects. The strategist himself along with Liu Bei, Guan Yu and a small company of foot soldiers will stay behind in the Shu capital.

Yang Jia was to follow Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong with a large company to conduct a meeting with Ma Chao's army. Careful directions and ambush points were laid out before them, when Cao Cao invades the borderline of Anding the three Shu officers were to aid Ma Chao's army into succeeding the battle, thus gaining his trust and allying with Shu. Zhuge Liang was wise enough to predict Sima Yi's strategic points and figured the time to act now would be appropriate seeing as he felt Cao Cao would attack in a total of four days from now. It would take one full day to reach Ma Chao's camp so the three officers were set out immediatley before everyone else to get a head start on the plans. At first Liu Bei had questioned whether it be wise to send out Zhang Fei towards Ma Chao seeing that his younger brother could be brazen towards the handsome warrior and thus break off all trust negotiations. Zhuge Liang eased his lords worries by claiming that Huang Zhong shall be left in charge and everything is carefully laid out for them. Should they find themselves in a tight spot, if at all Zhang Fei make any mistakes on his part, Huang Zhong was given a set of directions to follow. The directions he was reffering to was carried within a small trunk which seemed unusual to Huang Zhong, the scroll was minute enough to be carried within his own armor, however, Zhuge Liang instructed that he is not to open and reveal the scroll unless he is absolutley sure that the original plan has failed. Only then should he open the trunk and initiate the back up plan. Huang Zhong agreed and set out.

The trio traveled and made it through in good time as they reached the hills borderlining the main camp of the Ma army. They set up camp about forty miles away, just about enough to reach the Ma camp with eye distance. Plans were laid out as soon as they had arrived in the brand new morning. Huang Zhong and Zhang Fei would approach Ma Chao with the proposal of joining their aid while Yang Jia shall stay behind and guard the camp and command all units. Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong both straddled their horses and rode off till they reached the Ma camp, both stated their reasons to the main guards and were left to be awaited outside the gate. A few moments passed by when two warriors approached the two Shu warriors on horseback. One had a scruffy face with a short beard dressed in a less intricate armor compared to his colleague sitting next to him whom was dressed in a shining silver attire bearing two overly sized hatchets. It was lord Han Sui and Pang De. They stood before the two warriors not long on their own, two warriors in their prime youth both approaching on horseback. One looked like a definite strategist for his hat and robe were that of what most advisors would scuff up, he also carried a simple sword by his side and appeared rather limp. Ma Dai wasn't much of a fighter as he was a planner, but still his skills in the battlefield were formidable enough to be recognized. The other young man stood tall, when even on his horse he held such a high stature. He had on a bronzed helmet bearing a furious face of a dragon, horns extending out in mid air, and located on the back of his head where the helmet shot out handfulls of ashen stallion strands, grazing over his shoulders and backside reaching down towards his lower back. This was the valiant warrior Ma Chao.

Huang Zhong spoke out towards the indifferent warrior;

"We arrive on such sudden notice and for that we do apologize Lord Ma Chao. We are warriors of Shu, I Huang Zhong and my partner Zhang Fei, would ask for your forgiveness but you must know that we had to make haste to propose a promising proposal. We wish for you to aid us and our lord for you see we too are enemies of Cao Cao and wish to end his rule. We have heard rumors of Cao Cao partaking in a plan to place an attack on your army. We wish to aid you and start an alliance between our armies. Cao Cao, according to our fateful strategist, will be charging you in two days, so we lend our skills to you and in hopes that you would be kind enough to recieve us and join our lord after our assured victory."

Han Sui along with Pang De looked distasteful towards the warriors, they were so unsure as to how they could possibly know of when exactly the surprise attack would take place. Lord Han Sui was an old aqquaitance of Cao Cao, they both had actually got along quite well in the past before the days of hostility breached between his sworn brother and the king of chaos. Recently Cao Cao had been sending messages to Han Sui stating how he missed the old days, all letters had been kind and avoiding any mentioning of military affairs. Cao Cao even mentioned that he would alert Han Sui and send him when he would take out the plan of the surprise attack so that Han Sui may escape harm for he did not want to commit any injury towards his old friend. For that Han Sui couldn't help but feel a gentle compassion for his old friend but didn't know what to do as far as handeling it with Ma Chao who was left unaware of these letters.

Han Sui grew very suspcious against Huang Zhong and he rather disliked the rude look of the scruffy warrior sitting beside him. Pang De thought similar to Han Sui's thoughts and alert himself for he was so sure to be scoring bouts with these two soon, rather Ma Chao spoke in a deep mild tone;

"I am honored by your visit warriors of Shu, however, I am a bit puzzled as to how you acquired such crucial information regarding Cao Cao's attack. Do not blame me for my indifference towards you for I wish to avoid any sort of treachery. Unless you have any way of showing yourselves to be meaningful and true to what you say, only then shall consider of your proposal."

This response angered Zhang Fei for he thought of the proud warrior to be cocky and felt the need to settle a score with the young man. Such was the way of Zhang Fei who opened his mouth, startling everyone around him;

"Shut up! You don't know anything because if you had you would know that we are not ones to go by some less honorable plan as to decieve you on such matters. We are proud warriors and you are dishonoring that pride, how about you and I settle the score right on this very field?"

Huang Zhong's voice could not overbare the roaring vocals of Zhang Fei for he spoke so loud that Huang Zhong's horse even started to back away finding the sound irritating to it's ears. Ma Chao stayed much calm and remained indifferent, this attitude of his was starting to annoy Zhang Fei even more each time he looked upon the man's mysterious appeal. He didn't like the fact that he could not see the man's eyes hidden behind the fangs of the dragon helmet, thus making it more evident that this man could not possibly be trusted. Ma Chao spoke out a loud warning;

"You had best turn around and leave the grounds at once. I will only give you this as a final warning, I fight for a unique cause and the man whom your lord had recently capture Liu Zhang was the man I had served. Do not judge me just because I refuse to join you so easily. Leave now or else heed my words, I will make you kneel!"

Zhang Fei extended his spear towards the warrior and initiated the battle by merging over towards the middle of the field, Ma Chao momentarily approached towards Zhang Fei and soon the two began their fight on horseback striking bout after bout. Their spears clinging against eachother screeching in echo rings throughout the field. Ma Chao looked absolutley dashing with his moveset and while Zhang Fei was skillful and mighty he was continuously bested by Ma Chao. Of course it was said that Ma Chao's might matched that of the late warrior Lu Bu whom was the mightiest in all the land. How could Zhang Fei expect to win, most likely this would end in a fair tie. Both warriors fought for nearly two hours when suddenly their horses stayed still from exhaustion and refused to move even an inch. The two fighters looked towards eachother but remained silent. Both with nodding looks lowered themselves from their tired steeds and fought on ground. The ground fight was apprehensive until Zhang Fei lost connection and was bested by Ma Chao's spear wounding his arm. He didn't feel the need to finish him off right there, instead he looked down on Zhang Fei, it was there that the scruffy warrior looked up and could see from that view point the eyes of this warrior that defeated him. Had he seen these eyes before the fight he would of taken this fellow more seriously than before. Ma Chao rode out towards the main gate and ordered the capture of Zhang Fei. Huang Zhong protested towards Ma Chao but he only recieved an shrewd glare and was told to leave before he too would be captured. When asked of what would happen to Zhang Fei Ma Chao responded;

"He is a formidable opponent, however, his attitude makes me feel uneasy and I feel to keep an eye upon him rather than setting him free should he oppose me once more. I cannot waste such valuable time, you will be wise to leave now for I do not wish to have you captured as well." with that said Ma Chao left and his colleagues followed closely behind with the captured Zhang Fei. Huang Zhong tried to speak out but Ma Chao showed no interest and left him completley. Damn Zhang Fei for he has acted wrongly and now Huang Zhong must fall back.

Huang Zhong panicked and immediatley rode back towards the camp and alerted Yang Jia of what had taken place. Once he arrived he immediatley took out the scroll from the trunk and opened it to reveal the commiseriate instructions from Zhuge Liang. He opened it to find a white fabric of silk and on top of it placed was the scroll. He unrolled the scroll and this is what it read;

"You have opened this scroll to uncover a new set of directions meaning that there was a downfall to the original plan. Should you find yourself in a tight spot and feel that you have lost the trust of Ma Chao completley, all is not lost. However, you must make very sure that you do not initiate with this new plan unless Ma Chao has absolutley distrusts you completley, make very well sure that if there is a hint of mercy within his persona that you should stick with the original plan and seal this scroll away. If he does indeed distrusts you then this is what you must do; without questions you are to follow each step without delay."

Huang Zhong continued reading on for he was sure from Ma Chao's previous statement that he had lost all possible attempts to form an alliance with him.

"First, have Yang Jia stripped of her armor and dressed in the white gown contained in the trunk where you recieved this scroll."

Huang Zhong looked inside the trunk and sure enough the white fabric he noticed after the trunk was opened was the white gown as stated in the scroll, he proceeded to read on;

"Have her cleaned and dressed. After this is properly done so with all assescories in place, she is to approach all officers of the Ma army alone without a horse and without a weapon. Have her make respective obeisance towards them, ask her to propose the alliance and the rest shall be dealt with under her own hands. I have full confidence in her wits and so I have no worries as should you. Do this and Ma Chao's alliance will be assured to us."

Huang Zhong did have many questions after finishing the letter. Ma Chao was a man indeed and handsome as he was, yet Huang Zhong knew that he would not easily fall to the likes of just one woman dressed decently. He started to fear of what would happen if he were to follow up on this plan, Yang Jia could be in the risk of terrible harm. But alas he was left with limited options and thus he had to follow the tasks given to him without questions. He sent for Yang Jia, inviting her in his tent. She approached the elder warrior and he gave her her instructions and was told to make haste to follow them. She was taken to her own personal tent where two comfort ladies were to assist in cleaning and dressing Yang Jia. Huang Zhong felt incredibly uneasy, he didn't know what would befall upon him or his comrads. Only Zhuge Liang knew yet he did not provide any details and left the elder warrior with many unanswered questions. Alas Yang Jia emerges from her tent and is ready to set out, Huang Zhong is now on the point of no return, wherever the events may turn he will just simply have to deal with.


	5. Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

Liu Bei awaited anxiously for any of his officers to arrive with good news on behalf of completing their mission. He sat next to his darling wife Shang Xiang. The lord felt in good hands as he put all his hopes within his trusted advisor, Zhuge Liang was always well admired and never doubted by his lord. Summer was still warm and humid as ever, it only promoted the blossoming love between the lord and his wife as they took many strolls collecting blossoms and watching the sun set. Zhuge Liang thought it wise that Shang Xiang to be with her lord devotingly at this time allowing her to take his mind off all the uneasy interferences that may pop up. Shang Xiang succeeded in doing so without using extreme effort, and she in turn ignore reality as she recieved the devoting affection from her lord.

One morning Liu Bei approached Zhuge Liang concerned with a thought that had puzzled his mind for some time now,

"It has been nearly four weeks since we had recieved Yang Jia and her sworn uncles. It is because of you that I have these allies and for that I thank you but I do have a question concerning of the matter..." Liu Bei paused but before he could finish Zhuge Liang already knew where he was getting at and so he proceeded to answer.

"You wonder how I knew Zhang Guo had a niece. It was quite simple actually, all starting from that day when Zuo Ci had graced us with his presence. Do you remember the poems he recited? The first one Phoenix Rising went as followed;

"Angels fly and demons die;

When in doubt whom shall I rely?

The dragon is incomplete and the tiger is fighting,

But all shall cease when Phoenix Rising."

Zhuge Liang proceeded with his explanation.

"The "angels" represents the death of Zhang Guo as his life was slowly fading away. When life is finally rested it is usually said that we then become angels and enter heaven. We then fly around a golden kingdom with divine wings. The "demons" represents any foul deeds that may have taken place during our time in the mortal world. In this case, Zhang Guo felt shame for what he had done towards Yang Jia and so that became his "demon". If you should let go of your demons and make up for your sins, you shall fly in peace, that is what it all amounts to. With the third verse "the dragon is incomplete and the tiger is fighting" the dragon represents Shu, the tiger represents our foe Cao Cao, "But all shall cease with Phoenix Rising" it is said that the phoenix rises to aid humainty. The phoenix is Yang Jia."

Liu Bei fully understood and all was made clear. "But how is it that you knew of Yang Jia when her name was not mentioned at all during the topic of conversation at that time?"

Zhuge Liang replied,

"Think back, remember when the old master asked me if I had studied poetry? He purposely asked me to enforce my mind to alert itself and start reminiscing any studies of literature, he wanted me to set my mind in a particular mode as he would recite these lines and see if I was able to recognize them. The poetry itself was just to trigger off any familiar references. But I wasn't fully aware of the hidden message with whom or what was representing the phoenix. It wasn't until when the old master recited the second poem;

"Twas this the face that launch'd a thousand ships

The ships eyeing the shores of Asia Minor.  
And burnt the topless towers of an empire.  
Sweet Maiden, make me immortal with a kiss."

"It was then you see I fully understood him. While in my studying years ago I heard the rumors of Zhang Guo taking care of his niece. She was often reffered to as Pheonix Rising because her beauty seemed to blossom as she grew, emulating a phoenix awakening from it's slumber. Many said that Zhang Guo's niece had moved away and married a foriegner, but I recalled the Blue Ox master teacher of mine who once said that Zhang Guo had started the rumor, when in reality he had taken his niece in hiding due to an incident when she was thirteen years of age.....precisely six years ago." Zhuge Liang was cut short when Liu Bei shot up;

"You mean to say that the incident you are reffering to....it is when the thousand ships approached the Beijing sea? Is it Yang Jia who is the face that launched the thousand ships? Is it she? It is true then, that story was real..."

Zhuge Liang nodded, sharing with Liu Bei the story of when the thirteen year old Yang Jia had nearly caused a turbulent war and thus her uncle was banned from royal court discharged from his military position. He was once "General who Pacifies the West" but when the emperor had demanded his niece imprisoned, Zhang Guo refused. Instead he offered the emperor that he shall take matters in his hands and kill his own niece, the emperor satisfied let Zhang Guo free but he of course could never even think of doing such a deed towards his loving relative. Instead he took the young child, Zhang Guo a most talented painter within his day had collected petal dust from foreign seas. With the fine dust, the natural drugs and herbal oils, he concocted a home made shadow ink. This sort concotion is often used as a tattoo foundation for those who fancy body art. A wise example would be Gan Ning of Wu.

It all had started when Zhang Guo caught his niece crying, he asked her of what was the matter and she replied;

"I have caused you much trouble and I am a burden to you. I miss my mother and wish that she were here, for whenever I was upset we would both pick blue colored roses found in the fields, the roses smelled divine and made me happy....but fate has it that I shall never see my mother nor those sweet smelling blue roses ever again."

Zhang Guo at the telling of this memory was strucked with an idea. An idea that would ease the pain of his niece and set their troubles to extinction.

Zhang Guo then applied the blue shadow which penetrated deep within her skin. She complained that the smell was overpowering, but her uncle calmed her and told to stay still. He applied his talented painting skills and with that he created a new masterpiece, not on silk or bamboo, but on flesh. An amazing gift a relative could recieve as he brushed and patted to create those amazingly smokey eyes. Yang Jia felt the smooth brustles of the paint brush as it pattoned the crease of her lids and along the contours of her eye. He then asked her to keep them closed for a while, letting them dry permanently. Then he applied the shadow, using a much more thin brush, traced the outline of her eyes, from top to bottom. Yang Jia felt so glad to have the experience end as her uncle told her she was able to rest for the night and go to sleep. The next morning she noticed the blue coloring, she rubbed it gently but to no avail it never came off, not even with water and cloth, the color remained ever so delicatley painted on.

The emperor heard of the rumors, the villagers all gossping about Zhang Guo's infamous niece with the blue shadowed eyes. Zhang Guo then demanded a corpse of an already dead child with traits of ivory skin and black hair. The same qualities Yang Jia held. He found the corpse of a young girl who had sadly died of illness a day prior of his demand, as he paid respect towards the body, he applied the same blue shadow ink on her eyes. The emperor had never seen Yang Jia before nor did he know of her eurasian heritage, so you see this was a perfect plan to keep his niece away from death. The emperor recieved the corpse and fell victim to the decieving ruse, he had the child burried with a grand memorial and many respects were paid to the child's grave. Zhang Guo retired as a valiant warlord up in the mountains with his niece hidden away from the wretched world, safe for six years away in her locked room watched and cared upon. Thus is the story of Yang Jia, the phoenix whose face launched a thousand ships.

Back to the camp where Yang Jia prepared herself accordingly to Zhuge Liang's instructions, Huang Zhong nerously prepared her carriage to bring her as far as within twenty feet from the main gates.

Ma Chao steadied himself within the chair pondering of what to do with the loud mouthed Zhang Fei. He wondered whether it was true of what that elder warrior spoke of about Cao Cao and the surprise attack. If his indications were indeed true, Cao Cao should arrive in two days. Though he felt fully confident, Ma Chao show concerns regarding the presumption, and Ma Dai was called in to answer his cousin's probing questions. Of course the whole event was peculiar to the young advisor for he too could not make out this bizarre and sudden occurrence. Just as Ma Chao was to call in Han Sui for reccommendation a guard entered speaking of a visitor requesting the presence of all officers, the officers being Ma Chao, Han Sui, Pang De, and Ma Dai. Ma Chao grew a bit irrational thinking it may have been that old man again or perhaps he sent someone else to continue the inducement. He grew to be fed up and told the guard to bid them away when all of a sudden the guard mentioned that the warrior came unarmed and no horse. Ma Dai grew puzzled from this description and advised Ma Chao to meet up with the visitor. Ma Chao timidly agreed and all four officers were to march off towards the front gate to visit this tentative stranger.

The officers did not bother straddling their steeds, instead they approached on foot and stood side by side outside the gate. The soldiers appeared from all sides curious as to who was this stranger and what would be decided of his fate. All soldiers collected around the carriage and this made Yang Jia feel even more uncomfortable, she already felt sick to her stomach knowing that trouble could easily be initiated so she did her best to keep herself calm.

Ma Chao and his officers stood waiting for a few minutes by the gate not knowing when their shy visitor was going to come out. A few moments had gone by and a carriage made of dried bamboo pulled by two horses pulled up to it's destination, Ma Chao grew a bit tired of this waiting game and shouted out

"You have decided to waste my time, you either come out now for you cannot retreat or one of my officers shall castigate you." Ma Chao scornfully shouted;

Suddenly out stepped a bare leg, an eye catcher for the men of course but that would soon be put in the back of their minds for the real prize was about to be exposed. A woman dressed in a long white gown with grand accessories walked slowly towards the main gate. She moved with easy grace but it was obvious she felt nervous for she did not once look up to meet eye to eye with anyone, she kept her gaze upon the earth's soil. The gown fitted her well for it hugged the delicate curves of her slender body, she stood rather tall for a woman but was no match for these brutish looking men who all stood at least ten inches above five feet, and the officers were even taller. Each step she took was so light that not even the grass bent from her gentle pace, she held such a lean figure it looked as if she could levitate by the wind's current low velocity. Regardless, she did not lack the feminine qualities that made her look ever so sensual. What with that delicate slit on the gown allowed access to her fleshly right leg which held a delicate ankle chain. She also had on a choker necklace that plumed a waterfall effect with delicate chains falling into the crease of her pressed bosom and her crown made also of yellow gold formed an amazing shape. It depicted a phoenix spreading it's wings placed nicely on top of her head which sprout long silky black hair reaching down to her rear, swaying ever so lovely as she moved. Her lean arms had on gold arm bands which were joint with ocean blue sashes that dragged behind her feet, making her look as if she had wings of silk.

The men simply stayed frozen at the sight of this woman, all were tempted to simply grab the flowing edge of the gown dragging against the ground slowly trailing her as she moved, or those deep blue wings of hers. All wanted to simply take a second look at her for they grew extremely covet for this woman. Indeed she was a sight to behold but it seemed unfair to the men that she would not raise her head so that they may see her eyes, only the shaded blue tickled their curiousity as it shimmered against the envious rays of sunlight. Ma Chao was simply at awe when he saw what was coming before him. He blinked a number of times to make sure that she was indeed real and not just a figment of his wild imagination. His officers all held suspicious looks but they too couldn't help but keep their eyes fixed on this creature. Yang Jia finally reached the officers but did not once look them in the eye, instead she bowed quickly causing the rush of her fragrance to breach Ma Chao's senses. That was enough to make him fall to his knees but he maintained a steady composure. Not sure of what this event meant, Ma Chao stood his ground and despite this woman's infiltrating appearance he was never the kind to make obeisance for the sake of a pretty girl kneeling before him. He remained indifferent.

Moments passed by and Yang Jia wanted to speak but just couldn't find her voice, it nearly took her breath away walking the distance towards the gate. Now she bowed low before four mighty officers with her hands laying before her, finally after many short breaths did she find her voice to speak out;

"I have come to beg the splendid master Ma Chao for the freedom of the captured Zhang Fei of Shu. He is dear to me as well as he is dear to many back home, I beg you to show mercy upon him and set him free. We never meant you harm and still we give you our trust for we only wish to aid you on the fight against Cao Cao. That is why we came and if my lord's sworn brother had offended you you have my deepest apologies. He does indeed have a brazen attitude but please do not hold that against us, my lord is in need of your service and he wishes to prove that to you. I beg you, set him free."

Now Yang Jia meant every word and she was very sincere for she had every amount of pressure and sullied looks pushing her down every second by these men. She tried so hard to get the message through yet to her misfortune most of the meaning went passed these officers. Course if Liu Bei had been present he would of understand as flashbacks of his first encountance with the woman would come to play and how her voice caused a velvety impact on him. Ma Dai remained puzzled as he tried to think of who exactly was this woman. He had heard of the lady warriors of Shu such as Shang Xiang, Yue Ying, Xing Cai, and even many more came to mind, but none of them looked like this creature. He has never seen a woman like her before, she didn't even look like she held mortal features as he studied the divine attire and exquisite yellow gold jewelry, and that enchanting figure. Was this the form of sorcerors trickery? He wasn't one to rush into first impression judgements for it could turn to be a false alarm but he felt rather uneasy about this.

Ma Chao felt stunned and blissful. It was starting to become harder for him to stand still for all he wanted to do was to lift this woman's face and witness the entire image of her identity. Somehow this woman would leave him in a yearning state of wanting to see every inch of her, but she wouldn't raise her face to look at him. All he could see were her tinted eyes and a downward view of her face. He waited a few moments but then grew irritated that she remained bowing her head low, so he then he spoke distastefully towards the woman;

"Why don't you repeat your statement to my left officer since you refuse to look me in the eye. I cannot abide by anyone's request's should they be so frail to hide themselves."

His voice flat and deep, crossed arms showed much emphasis towards his sarcastic behavior. Yang Jia remained silent and her head still lowered for she could not beileve that this man was so rude to say such a thing to her after she had poured her heart and soul with this visit and asking for the man's cooperation. She was expecting a positive response, instead she now found herself stuck in a difficult spot but refused to repeat herself. At first she wasn't sure if that man was Ma Chao for he didn't introduce himself, but seeing as the way he spoke and the termonologies used in his statement, she could pretty much assumed it was him. With her head facing the ground she couldn't see what the officers looked like but she could feel their eyes on her, especially with the one who spoke so rudely before. His aura sent stabbing sensations within her stomach and she felt the need to run far away from this man. A few moments passed by when Ma Chao grew tired of waiting on her, he leaned his back against the wall leisurely with arms still crossed only this time his stance was much more relaxed. His right foot pounded the wall behind him as he used it to support his body leaning against it, his left sole stayed soiled to the ground. He lifted his head upward slightly so that his eyes were only slightly visible from beneath the helmets features. He blinked a couple times, eyelids heavy and eyes half closed. He sighed deeply and continued to inhale and exhale out of boredom. Then he decided to speak once more;

"Understand that we are wearisome and we do not have time to waste, will you state what you exactly is it that you want with us and then I shall let you go."

The woman closed her eyes and shifted her head slightly by in inch towards her left shoulder, still looking down so none of the officers could see her face fully. She then blinked a couple of times, then turned back towards the officers and slowly lifted her face to look straight into the eyes of the mighty lord Ma Chao. Suddenly his eyes which were once half closed were now blinking once, then twice, and opened wide in astonishment. He slowly lowered his head and his helmet began to once again shade away his appearance and Yang Jia could barely see his eyes any longer, but he could see hers. She had such amazing features that stole away Ma Chao's breath. Her cheeks were full and fitted with her full lips that revealed a seductive pout. Her eyebrows were close to her eyes which gave her a rather meaningful glare. Those, along with the blue shadowing made everything about her look perfect.

He remained leaning his back against the wall and arms crossed, he was too stunned to move and he didn't really want to anyway. He indulged himself with this blooming atmosphere and stared intently deep into her eyes, taking every second to examine her soft face. Yang Jia felt as if she was burning in high degrees, she never saw a man like Ma Chao and for him to be staring at her like so, really was intimidating. Her deep breathing caused her breasts to upswing, many shivers traveled up and down her back, his glare looked dangerous even when relaxed. Ma Chao remained ever so calm, regardless the rush of wide feelings coursing through his body, he felt blissfully calm enough to fall into a sound slumber. Yang Jia looked at him with a merciful and dissapointed expression that sent the warrior breaking into thousand pieces deep inside. She opened her lush lips slightly to speak and again that sparrow singing voice of hers sent Ma Chao to a new world, he felt an uncontrollable uprising within him.

"You ask me to state what it is that I came for when I already had....but I will say it again...for you.." she spoke with slight hesitation;

Ma Chao craved into those last words. _For him...._that sounded delightful he wanted to hear it again, he wanted to hear more.

"Go on, say it...tell me what you want." This time, Ma Chao's voice carried the tone of utmost sincerity and sensitivity as his deep voice ran through Yang Jia's body like piercing daggers. Ma Chao kept his leisure stance, continuously shifting his head either upward or back down to switch his viewpoint of the woman. She was lovely in every way he looked at her.

"Come on....you can tell me." he spoke so softly yet demanding, his officers noticed this sudden change of tone and were trying to guess in their right minds what was to occur next.

Yang Jia's eyes gleamed and she spoke through those rosy stained lips; every word breathily spoken,

"I....I need...." She began to catch her breath and Ma Chao continued for her;

"You need what? Tell me..." He spoke ever so gently even though he had that wild stare penetrating her soul;

"...you to...please." Yang Jia paused and again Ma Chao's peaceful tone intruded;

"Say it...." the deep tone caught everyone's attention including Ma Dai's and they began to wonder if Ma Chao was hearing himself talk. They weren't even sure if he was thinking with a straight mind he looked so relaxed they thought that he was possibly half asleep. This on and off conversation was few and far between, no one saw anything like it. Two strangers whom never laid eyes on eachother till now are yearning for one another in a first impression sensation. Yang Jia still breathing deeply gave Ma Chao a soft look,

"Please...I was sent here to help you, I want to do what I can to prove my lord's worth...he is a good man and he doesn't want to see you harmed. I only request that you release lord Zhang Fei, allow us to fight alongside with you and....above all....come with us to Shu...please do that..."

Yang Jia was nearly finished but the lord Han Sui abruptly stated;

"Why is it so important that we join your lord Liu Bei? He has just captured Chengdu, isn't that enough to give him all the men he desires? Why is it so important to him? Or rather should I ask why is it important to you?" Han Sui spoke sternly but was not rude, rather he sounded probing more than anything else.

Yang Jia felt as if the whole world frowned upon her, was she not trying hard enough? How could she make it clear to these men? She was nearly begging them and still they demanded more and more, she felt dismal and was unsure of what to do. Ma Chao felt a bit distasteful towards Han Sui's terrible timing when he was just experiencing an attachment of what seemed like affection through their bonding gaze. Yang Jia lowered her head back down and avoided to make eye contact once again. She looked as if she had given up, straightening her stance slightly, resting her hands on her lap and nodding her head ever so gently did she let out a sigh of distress. When suddenly to her delight Ma Dai spoke out with a proposition in hand.

Ma Dai's proposal will be discussed in the next chapter.


	6. I Wish I had an Angel

I Wish I had an Angel

Within the last chapter the scene between Ma Chao and Yang Jia's first encounter had been clarified. With an bounding affection present in the atmosphere, there was not one person present who could not ignore of what seemed like "love at first sight" between the two different hearts. Much tension was recieved by both members of the opposite sides as Yang Jia tried to persuade the Ma army in joining forces with the Shu federation, however, much to her dismay Yang Jia's inducement was deteriorating as each moment had passed by. Just as she was about to capitulate her ground and retreat to the main camp, Ma Dai, the cousin of Ma Chao had suggest a duel between the lady visitor and five of Ma Chao's best men to test the worth of Liu Bei's assembly.

Zhang Fei remained on his knees as he witnessed the happenings of this event. He felt rage towards the Ma officers for seeming too ignorant, thus he concluded that the members of the Ma army should not be trusted by his elder brother. Abruptly, Ma Dai spoke up and broke off the prolonging discord;

"It is to our attention that Zhang Fei and this woman have come to us with innocuous intentions and wish to aid us against Cao Cao's suppose invasion. Since it seems to be proven difficult to take their words truthfully, I propose a worthy duel between our alleged harmless visitor and the Ma army's best men. This shall test the true meanings behind Liu Bei's intentions, Lord Han Sui, please choose out five grand officers to partake in this event."

Pang De thought of this as an interesting oppertunity to test the true worth of the Shu visitor and thus agreed to include himself among the five officers.

Yang Jia maintained a calm exterior though she felt nervous deep within. She wondered if the proposal was logically well thought out and if she should accept the challenge in such an inconvenient time. Still she found no voice to stand up against this thought seeing that this was an oppertunity to test the sincerity of Liu Bei's honor. Carefully, she chose a weapon of a long spear and readied herself in the at the center of the field. Both Ma Chao and Ma Dai stood by with Han Sui keeping a watchful eye on the woman and the four soldiers surrounding her, Pang De approached on horseback.

When the gong was sounded off each of the four soldiers took turns charging at the woman but much to their dismay their weapons could not come in contact with their opponent. Putting her timely reflexes into action, ignoring all thrusts and puncture charges while twirling. Her "wings" of midnight blue encircled her magnficant form as she shift her body movements against the wind's directional current. An incredible sight as Ma Dai was left breathless by her unique martial display. Ma Chao, thought impressed, would of been more drawn to her fancy illlustration except that he noticed that she kept avoiding and never attacking the tenacious warriors. Each man would try his best to take her down but moved like snails compared to her lightning image, having every oppertunity to take each one of them out, yet still the woman remained ignorant and danced around them without ever attacking. Resembling a mobile sparrow as her gown moved fluidly in the air with every intricate movement she carried out. Her jewels lustered against the envious rays of light shot down from the skies of heaven, remaining ever so focused on the angelic danseuse.

The challenge only went on for a few minutes until each man, angered by the game she was playing, forced themselves to give down on the challenge. Pang De announced that he would take over himself facing a straight duel between him and the exasperating female. The woman was, in his eyes, a bothersome filly who needed to be taken care of and so he meant to take every measure to rid this woman from the ground she walked on. Was there an explanation as to why she would not attack yet had every flying oppertunity to do so? Apparently to Pang De it did not matter, he found her annoying and wanted to put her in her place. He exposed his two large hatchets shining magnificantly against the roaring sun. Each swing he provided left a screeching scream as the clunks of metal hacked against the wind's velocity. He was fast and incredibly skillful, but then just like the others, he could not manage to strike. She used her spear to perform ethereal poses and mixed moves of dance steps and martial arts combined which proved to be faultless and unavoidable towards her opponent, yet she would not meet her weapon with flesh. Not even using the spear to meet her opponent's own weapon, Yang Jia continued to fight and remained unreachable to the brutal fighter.

Ma Dai saw enough and called off the fight, all looked towards him with questioning gazes, he gave no explanations. Simply he moved over facing his cousin, he bowed in low respects on one knee and this is what he said;

"My cousin we may have acted wrongly. This woman is no threat to us neither is the warrior Zhang Fei, for I truly have seen the light of their atmosphere. If they had wanted to destroy us they would of easily put alot more effort into doing so, it wouldn't have been guaranteed that they would of taken out the plan effectively, however, they could have easily inflicted much damage upon us. Yet, you have seeen the way she fought our men, refusing every suitable right to attack all five warriors regardless their intentions of striking her down. She could of easily used her wiles to gain any military statistics and entered the main camp, but she did not once acted with dalliance, proof of her wisdom and truth behind her word. This woman is truly a worthy warrior along with Zhang Fei, and they mean to do as they have stated from the beginning. I think it to be wise that we allow them to alliance with us against Cao Cao. It should also be taken into great consideration of allying with them for a short term and lending Liu Bei our strength. Well Ma Chao, what do you think?"

Ma Chao was a man with great wits and very knowledgable, however, when it came right down to it no matter what the situation may be, Ma Dai always was one step ahead and held the higher opinon. He trusted in his cousin more than anyone and knew where he was coming from. This was a refusal that he could not ignore for he did not want be enemies with Liu Bei but wasn't sure if he was ready to service under him. For the time being he thought it harmless to recieve help and may as well lend out a helping hand for a short time.

Lord Han Sui reacted towards Ma Dai's statement hastily, he thought opposite of Ma Dai's judgement and protested sharply;

"But you have seen her fellow brother in arms as he had challenged Lord Ma Chao earlier. Ever since his arrival he showed hostility towards our master, how are you to suppose that they came to us with good intentions?" to which Ma Dai responded crucially;

"Lord Zhang Fei is known to be a shameless chump who often speaks illogically. Still he is a skillful warrior who is known to protect the weak and innocent. We must not be deceived by his irrational behavior for he is a decent man deep within. And with this young woman siding with him could only mean that she is judicious in her own manner. Though I have never seen this woman before, I thought it sensible enough to allow her a chance and prove her worth. That is why I proposed the challenge so that she should be allowed once chance to prove Liu Bei's honor. Right from the beginning it was slightly evident that these people were here to help more than to defeat us. The woman visitor made very high obeisance towards all officers and has come unarmed, no horse, not even the least bit of armor is seen on her form. Can we truly ignore this completley and say that she has come to harm us?"

Lord Han Sui stood leaving no arguement. Ma Chao only remained still thinking of the benefits and disadvantages of siding with Liu Bei. He stood there looking down at his cousin showing a brief cunning grin, even chuckling a bit as he vocalized his decision;

"I feel the honesty within your words my cousin and so therefore I will trust in your judgement. We will see if they really are as sincere as you claim. And for the meantime I shall lend my spear to Liu Bei, there should be no harm; besides, it would be good to have allies at the moment against Cao Cao's impressive army."

Ma Chao then turned a shrewd eye towards Han Sui knowing that the elder warrior had eyed himself distastefully towards him; "What do you think of this lord Han Sui?"

Lord Han Sui was not fully trusting towards Ma Chao's judgements and therefore spoke as thus;

"I feel that we should allow time to tell us. We should not quickly abrupt ourselves into joining anyone's side."

Ma Chao chuckled a bit and then disregarded most of Han Sui's objections. Lord Han Sui felt scornful towards this attitude but managed to keep himself in a calm manner. Zhang Fei was released and both he and Yang Jia rejoined themselves happily. They both headed back to camp after showing their gratitude towards Ma Dai. Ma Chao felt no need to approach both the woman or Zhang Fei, he felt tired and a perfectly wasteful day has ended. But then again, the warrior should not be so unliking towards today's events for he witnessed something stimulating today. He shut away those feline eyes and nearly fell into a peaceful state of mind, tomorrow should be out of the ordinary as he will now be apart of Liu Bei's army. Justice never recieves a break suppose he.

Zhang Fei felt a strong disliking towards Ma Chao and failed many attempts to induce Huang Zhong on discontinuing the plan and marching back to the capital of Shu-Han. Much to his dismay Huang Zhong stood firm and reminded him of the consequences should they fail their mission, especially having finally gaining the trust of Ma Chao and joining an alliance between their armies.

"We finally gain his approval. Tommorow we meet up with him and his advisors to initiate the plan Zhuge Liang has meditated for us. Why be so scornful right now? Everything is now into place and we cannot risk forming a new enemy, especially with a formidable male such as Ma Chao." replied Huang Zhong.

Zhang Fei understood that Zhuge Liang's influence was heavily admired by his elder brother, therefore he refused to continue the useless debate and left it as such. He did warn before he took his leave that if any suspicions rose that Ma Chao or his meant any harm towards his elder brother, that he would swiftly take out Ma Chao regardless of Zhuge Liang's orders. Huang Zhong nodded in dismay towards the warning and looked away excusing Zhang Fei, knowing that he can be rather irrational with certainty. Huang Zhong remained ever so diligent with his duty and made sure that all conceptions were into place for tomorrow's meeting with Ma Chao as they will discuss the design plan of executing Cao Cao's invasion.

Yang Jia arrived within the tent just as Huang Zhong prepared a letter of their current status to Liu Bei. The elder warrior smiled favorably towards the child as he signaled her to approach the desk in a casual manner. He had every reason to thank this woman for her diligent work and rescuing Zhang Fei from possible execution charges. Course it was Zhuge Liang's brilliant planning and considerations that saved all three of the officer's hides, but for now he thought the woman could use a little credit to her name. Huang Zhong gave Yang Jia a brief following of their plan and what should take place the next day. If Zhuge Liang's strategic points are right on, Cao Cao should be hitting the Ma army lines two days at sun rise. It was expressed that Cao Cao had enough provisions and grain to last two weeks from the time Yang Jia arrived in Shu. Ma Chao has more than enough grain and commissariats within his divisions to last an entire year. Cao Cao's main plan is to use up every last inch of his provisions till none was left to spare, then to attack the Ma camp and taking out all main generals thus taking over Ma Chao's commissariat divions. By doing this he would have caught the Ma army off guard from the full wait, or so he thought. Zhuge Liang was a man of excellent virtue, inspired by the greats of history's most prestiges strategists dating back towards the Spring and Autumn dynasty. Sima Yi may have been skillful in many of his accomplishments while joining up with Cao Cao, but none could match the wisdom of the Sleeping Dragon's gifted mind. Hopefully, his theory would prove to be correct and that the officers may succeed in taking out Cao Cao and capturing the Wei ruler.

Yang Jia understood the plan and began to take her leave. Just as she was about to excuse herself the elder stopped her abruptly to hand her a particular document.

"This was contained in the trunk that carried the back up plans from Zhuge Liang and the gown you now wear. This letter is marked with your name, I had not opened it nor do I have any intention of reading the contents within this letter. Take this with you in your personal quarters, it is written that it is essential that you read this after we had taken out the back up plan in success." Huang Zhong ended the statement and Yang Jia was excused to repose in her quarters. After arriving and settling in her accommodations she carefully unraveled the scroll and read the contents slowly, it read as followed;

"I have known you only for but a short time yet I have complete reliance on your judgments in these current situations. If you are reading this scroll then I will begin by felicitating you on behalf of your success in encouraging the Ma army generating an alliance with our lord's federation.

You have our lord's gratitude as well as mine. I do express my contrition for putting you through such a dragging assignment, yet it became a crucial delegation that was the only escapism for you and the two other officers. I ask you to understand the critical dealings of which we needed more men and you were just one of the many lassies to take over in such a status. You shall have our eternal gratitudes for you have proven your worth to our lord and to our officers.

I would also like to affirm that many articles from your uncle's home have been recieved and placed within your quarters in the Shu-Han captial. Your uncle also sent you a will. You will find it in the scroll container that contained this letter. I advise you read it as soon as you end reading this.

Genuinely,

Zhuge Liang"

Yang Jia felt her heart slowly coming to long winding beats gradually beating slower and slower as she felt shortness of breath. She couldn't help but feel very anxious on what she would find within her uncle's will. She terribly missed him so and wondered what it was he could of left for her. A painting of his perhaps? The thought seemed delightful for Yang Jia always appreciated her uncle's talents, they were beautifully designed and she felt always at ease whenever she looked upon his many artworks. How nice it would be to wake up every morning to see one of her uncle's canvases hung on the walls of her new quarters in Shu. Would be something special to experience every morning. She felt her feelings rise as she took out the will eagerly and began reading the familiar handwriting. She slightly felt teary-eyed as she recognized the scent of peppermint and mandarin spices overpowering the scroll. The same scent that of which carried itself through her uncle's home back on the mountains. The will read as followed;

"Yang Jia,

When you will be reading the contents of this will, it means that I have already passed and that you are no longer in my care or living in my home. You are now residing in a place far better than the imprisonment that I have bestowed upon you and are no longer in hiding from the world I shamefully rid from you. How can I ever ask for you to forgive me? I only wanted you to be content and suffer no harm or consequences inflicted by the many crude beings of this terrible earth. The day I took you in my home and cared for you as a father would to his own daughter, I shed tears for your happiness for you had been through so much with your mother's passing. I beg you to forgive her as well, she never wanted to leave you and only had the best intentions for your future. She flies above in the sky of heavens looking down upon you and I. I am sure she is very proud of her only deserving progeny as I am proud of you as my only living member of the family tree. Please understand that I never meant to seem cruel and I hope that I made it clear to you by spending all my time with you, giving you anything you had asked for, and paying all my love and tenderness to your attention. Even though those may not make up for the experiences you have missed out for six years, still I must say that I only did what I had to do because I wanted to protect the only thing that meant most to my long life.

Be content my dearest niece, this will is not meant to make you shed tears. You always made me feel proud and happy to be apart of your life and have you apart of mine. I give you the possessions of my house to remind you of our home should you feel nostalgic. Items such as my desk accessories, my quail feather ink container you had liked so much, and my statue collection you enjoyed looking at all now belong to you. It may not be much but I always knew you had appreciated the simple ornaments of my home. You will also have my collection of books, I would like for you to continue your studies as well as your skills in martial arts and dance.

There is another accessory added with this will that I have wanted to give to you for some time, now seems more appropriate than ever. Your mother's dowry. I leave you all of the precious memories of your mother's first encounternance with your father. The white gown along with it's counterparts such as the crown headset that plumes the phoenix rising. It was your mother's most prized possessions made of the finest materials found within natures good hands. No other woman in all of China may have a remotely similar attire, your father had it made specifically for her by the finest talents of sewers and jewelers. She had always kept it in fine quality and I just know that she would have wanted to pass it on when the day came that you would blossom into a fine lady. I wish for you to wear it with pride, for I know your skills in dancing and martial arts allows you to grace the earth like a goddess. It is more appropriate for you and I hope you continue to dance eternally wearing this as a symbol of your mother's essence, my bloodline, and the heart of China. I hope you are content and I wish you well on your journey. I love you eternally and will be smiling upon you in heaven with your mother. You have my fairest wishes.

Eternally your Uncle,

Zhang Guo"

Yang Jia felt a tear sliding down her cheek vulnerably falling from the edge of her full rounded cheeks. She never did bear any grudges towards her uncle and yet she felt incomplete for she never did make that clear to him. How aweful she felt that moment as she pressed the letter close to her heart and wept. She turned the letter over to reveal the date which caught her attention. The will was written the very same night she had left for Shu. This explains why she recieved the gown and the jewels in the crucial time of their mission seeing as Zhuge Liang had most likely planned everything carefully the moment he had met her. Yang Jia made a pact to herself as she promised she would fufill her uncle's dying wishes and as he would be sharing hands with her mother up in the heavens above, she would do her best to make them both proud.

Her fingers began to fidget with the material that grazed against her arm, the thick gold bands that connected with the blue organza and it's beautifully designed elements sewn along the hems. She rubbed the fabric between her fingers to feel the smoothnes of the material sliding against itself, then she traced the contours of the gown's slit running up to her right thigh revealing a wide view of her dancer legs leisurely laid out on the soft bedding. She performed the same fingering habit on the lining of the gowns neckline, which held her delicate breasts pressing close together, running her fingers up to touch the choker necklace with it's flimsy fringe of gold charms forming a convex waterfall dangling towards the crease of her exposed cleavage.

Since it was mentioned in the will, fond memories of her mother began to occupy her mind. She could remember when her mother took out the dowry from her wooden chest and ever so gracefully dressed herself. She looked ethereal and would always wear the softest shade of rasberry pink on her lips. She recalled a moment when she asked her mother if she could try on the lip shade herself, her mother responded; "Come sit with me in front of the mirror A-Jia."

Her voice was always so heart melting, putting Yang Jia's well praised vocal tone to shame. She remembered sitting in front of the large vanity reflection resting her bottom on her mother's lap;

"There, look at your lips. See how pretty they are? That perfect shade of red, you will never need to fancy yourself as the way I do...you're far much better than that." her mother would then end her statement with a kiss on her daughter's thatch of raven strands and would finish beautifying herself. Yang Jia moved over looking behind to view her image reflected by the medium sized mirror resting on top of the orangwood dresser. She studied her facial traits and compared them to the memory of her mother's image. Yang Jia did not carry much of her mother's Chinese traits, in fact, she was always told that she resembled her father's bloodline of mixed Austrian, French and Italian essences.

Lithe fingertips traced along her delicate jawline as she reached up to touch her lush lips naturally stained Alizarin red. Her eyes were probably the only element that contained a hint of oriental characteristics, they were long and almond shaped; traced by medium mobile lids. The color was beautifully gifted as they emulate the tiger eye gemstone. Actually, there were many words that could impeccably describe A-Jia's eyes, whether it be breathtaking, mesmerizing, or simply just out of this world, there was no way these literary attributes could compare to the hypnotic thrill it delivered with their sophisticated appearance. And hindered above these captivating eyes were her straight eyebrows decently placed. She tapped the tip of her straight and petite button nose that was proportioned gracefully in the midview of her face, perfecting her side view into what could only be described as a queen's profile. She was always happy that the one thing she did strongly inherit from her mother was her ivory pale complexion. Her mother had the most radiant tone that even the moon would envy her skin's brilliance. Yang Jia's skin wasn't at all as illuminating as her mother's, but that prove not to be an issue for the level of radiance of Yang Jia's skin tone reminisced a white rose with a touch of peach blush.

She may not be fully aware of it but Yang Jia had looks to die for. Though as far as she was concerned, when comparing herself to the image of her mother, she thought herself inferior. She would never forget the way her mother swayed and expressed her kind laughter as she danced in the ceremonial hall of the emperor's palace as the empress royal entertainer. Yang Jia never knew what her father looked like nor did she ever meet him, but from what her uncle had stated he was said to be a dashing young man. Even though he was significantly much older than her mother, he was described as very handsome and had the most dignified western features. He had high cheek bones, a thick mustache and a roman nose. His face was equally proportioned, which explains Yang Jia's facial perfection, but he didn't carry the same eye catching qualities as his eurasian daughter supported. However, if there was one thing her uncle did find most remarkable about the foreigner, it was his jade green eyes, believed to be so stunning that the emperor forced the man to sit before him looking straight into his eyes so that the imperial highness may stare at the verdant orbs for multiple hours at a time.

Sadly her father's visiting term had ended the same time Yang Jia was born. He never did come back to see her or reach through to her by any sort of communication. Everything was limited and much of the eurasian generation were left to be raised by their asian guardians, uknowing and seperated of their foreign family.

The sun upsurged above the mountainous terrain enveloping the landscapes of the green soils of the earth. The river bend rushed over the rocky foundation entrenched beneath the surrounding embankment of sandy grains molded into huge earthly figurines. Two armies were joint together to discuss the divine plans that would increase the foundation of a newly formed coalition.


	7. Crownless

Crownless

The meeting held between the newly formed alliance did not go as smoothly as expected. What with Zhang Fei distrustful towards the Ma army and Han Sui feeling vice versa, the design plan was not discussed effortlessly. Huang Zhong did his best to maintain control of the event and contain his fellow officer. Both Ma Dai and Ma Chao were able to remain calm and cooperative the whole time, perhaps this alliance was more important to them than it had seemed. Yang Jia remained standing behind her fellow officers, her time in isolation had caused her to have poor communication skills. She felt compelled to speak and worried in saying the wrong things, being incredibly shy, she stayed quiet and avoid making eye contact with everyone in the room. Therefore much of the company in the room forgot that she was even present.

"Cao Cao should be arriving from the eastern path, here is where Zhang Fei and I shall reside, whereas Han Sui and Pang De shall stay over here as to maintain and cover the commissariat divisions."

Huang Zhong explained the plan flawlessly and made it to be very clear to all officers present, however, Han Sui responded with a repugnant glare. He refused to take in the information of the plan provided by the Shu federation and was obstinate to bring up the situation with his lord once the meeting was over. Han Sui, whom was friends with Cao Cao in the past, has revolted against the allying formation of the two armies and instead, he was hoping for his sworn brother's son to take in charge and provide a treaty between the Ma army and Cao Cao's army. He did not care for Shu. Furthermore, Cao Cao had sent Han Sui letters of affability, he even stated how he was going to plan the invasion sometime and he wanted to avoid harming Han Sui, thus he provided an escape route for him. Of course Ma Chao was unaware of this conspiracy which added more pressure to Han Sui to form a coalition between Ma Chao's army and Cao Cao's federation.

Ma Chao noticed the slight hostility coming from his sworn uncle and thought it wise that the meeting should be dismissed for a short time and rejoined later in the day. Huang Zhong agreed and thought of taking this as an oppertunity to get through to Zhang Fei and allowing him to come to friendly terms with Ma Chao.

"He is not at all bad and he means to help us after we do this favor. He has our trust as we have his, let us not bicker about this anymore." Huang Zhong stated,

Zhang Fei looked at the old man to respond truthfully of his feelings, "It is not Ma Chao directly that I distaste, rather it is that blasted officer of his, Han Sui. You had seen the way he looked towards me! I am grateful that Ma Chao has decided to aid us, for that my elder brother may sleep in peace at night, but I fear that that Han Sui is no good."

Huang Zhong took this matter to the heart and discussed it thoroghly with Zhang Fei that character judgments should be only left up to Zhuge Liang. It took more than an hour, however, by the time came when the meeting was to be reformed, Zhang Fei gave in and decided to give Han Sui a chance and avoid bickering with him. This was a commendable act on Zhang Fei's part and Huang Zhong thanked him gratefully.

Han Sui was located by the river to consult with his lord once again. He had recieved another letter from Cao Cao the day prior but he sent the messenger back stating that he was to engage in a meeting first thing in the morning with Ma Chao and Huang Zhong. It is much safer not to be seen with any of the letters while many of the Shu officers are roaming around. Cao Cao heard word about the meeting between the two armies and at once set out to take full advantage of the situation. He was to show up and be seen with Han Sui, should Ma Chao witness this act he would show hostility towards Han Sui, leading him to defect and thus Cao Cao shall gain a new officer. This was a grand idea, and set out at once. He traveled all day and all night and reached the Ma army camp the same time the meeting was taking place. He found Han Sui during the temporary dismissal and decided to approach, much to Han Sui's astonishment, he felt a bit jovial to see the Wei leader. They spoke towards one another with good memories and laughter, not at all mentioning war affairs or their armies. Instead, Han Sui found himself content and completley forgetful of his surroundings, it was until Ma Chao arrived with his cousin and saw the two men conversating with one another in a frivalous manner. Rage filled Ma Chao's heart as he felt betrayed and utterly foolish for trusting this man, who was once a close friend of Cao Cao's. He shouted towards Han Sui;

"Lord Han Sui! You dare to conspire against me and side with Cao Cao?!"

Han Sui turned suddenly and saw the fire in Ma Chao's eyes, before he could speak Cao Cao quickly told Han Sui to escape towards the north and Cao Cao shall act as a decoy and lead Ma Chao towards a dead end. Cao Cao had already brought two strong officers to meet up with him so that he may escape safely, but Han Sui disregarded his instructions, instead he tried to make peace with Ma Chao.

"Listen Ma Chao, I have never defected you in the first place. I was only speaking on friendly terms, nothing is going on here. If anything, it is Cao Cao! He plans to decieve you thus he traveled here and came towards me purposely so that you would see us together. Please believe me."

Ma Chao nodded in dismay and looked straight into his eyes;

"Do not speak...I have heard enough. You belong with Wei, I don't have any use of you after witnessing this treacherous event."

Han Sui tried to explain once again by approaching the young lord but instead found himself crossing the line as he recieved a glare from Ma Chao. With murder in his eye, Ma Chao started to head charge Han Sui with his mighty spear in hand gripped and ready to strike for the kill. It was then that Han Sui saw that his words were irresolvable and took Cao Cao's advice and head towards the path he was instructed to take. Meanwhile Cao Cao met up with his two officers and took the detour route which would eventually connect with the path Han Sui traveled on. Both officers head towards the Wei camp, leaving Ma Chao with one less officer. Fury boiled within his blood, he swore the next time he were to lay eyes on either Cao Cao or Han Sui, that he would bring death upon them. Ma Dai was left speechless, for he knew anything said may inflict more fuel to the fire, and Ma Chao's temper was quite austere.

All remaining members reached eachother for the other half of the meeting. Both Huang Zhong and Zhang Fei felt a bit petrified as they felt shivers running down their spine. The sight of Ma Chao and his death glare gave the meeting room a daunting aura, and with him not uttering a single word only added much chilling vibes to all who stood in the room.

"What do we do now? My main officer has left us and he has seen part of the plan."

Ma Chao's voice was chilling and all who stood around him froze in terror, none could find the words to soothe the beasts heart as he focused his sight on the map intently. He looked calm, however, looks are surley to be decieved. Ma Dai spoke out;

"He has only seen part of the plan, let us discuss the remaining details and carry out our instructions. Zhuge Liang's plans are flawless and if we are to switch the officers positions and instead further out the locations we should take out Cao Cao by surprise."

Huang Zhong agreed to this as well as Zhang Fei.

"If we just prepare the ambush further along the path instead of at this spot where he would be expecting us, we shall take out his main division over here."

Many points and notions were well agreed upon by all officers and they set out for a early sleep. Before the sun would rise they would gather their main divisions, their weapons and the amount of horses they are to require, everything shall be in place. Ma Chao had it in for Han Sui, though he knew the elder warrior for most of his life, he felt the betrayal taking over his pure blood and soon a vendetta was born. For Han Sui's sake, he would do better not to run into Ma Chao.


	8. Authors Note

Authors Note:

Hello everyone! I just wanted to check in with those who are reading (and enjoying) the story so far. I haven't had the chance to update any new chapters due to my schedule, but fear not! I will update new chapters as soon as I have the time on my hands. I have every intention of finishing this story so please check in from time to time. I will be absent for three months, as soon as I am finished with moving and settling in my new destination I'll update and possibly finish the story. I want to thank you all for those who have given me your support. :)

Sima Feiyan


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